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HEROES and HEROINES 



OF THE 



CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 



BY 

EEY. A. RITCHIE, Ph. D. 







AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

I50 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK. 



Y 



CONTENTS. 



r 



"ST. PATRICK" . 7 

JOHN WICKLIFFE 14 

WILLIAM TYNDALE 24 

JOHN HUSS ' . 34 

JEROME OF PRAGUE 46 

PATRICK HAMILTON 55 

HUGH LATIMER 61 

MARTIN LUTHER 68 

PHILIP MELANCHTHON S3 

ULRIC ZWINGLI . 97 

JOHN CALVIN 114 

JOHN KNOX . . 131 

THOMAS CRANMER . . .146 

JOHN BUNYAN . 156 

BERNARD PALISSY 166 

HENRY MARTYN 172 

ADONIRAM JUDSON 182 

JOHN NEWTON 195 

WILLIAM MILNE 207 



4 CONTENTS. 

ROBERT POLLOCK 216 

THOMAS CHALMERS 229 

JOHN WILLIAMS 242 

JOHN COLERIDGE PATTESON .253 

ANNE ASKEW 265 

LADY MARGARET DOUGLAS 270 

MRS. ISABELLA GRAHAM 276 

ELIZABETH FRY . ... 1 .... 284 

MARY LUNDIE DUNCAN 291 

HANNAH MORE ......... 298 

MARY SOMERVILLE 307 

ANN HASSELTINE JUDSON . 312 

SARAH MARTIN 322 

LADY HUNTINGDON 33° 

LADY GLENORCHY -338 

MARY LYON ♦ . 343 



EXPLANATORY. 



The sketches in this volume were prepared 
for and published in u The Christian Press." 
They were well received, and many requests made 
for their publication in a more permanent form. 

The author has yielded to these requests, 
believing that the brevity of the sketches and the 
simple style in which they are written will espe- 
cially commend them to young readers, and to 
those who in this busy age want everything in a 
nutshell. It is here also proper to say that in 
addition to the volumes mentioned in the sketches 
themselves, the author is indebted largely for the 
facts which form the basis of these narratives to 
"The Life of Lady Huntington," and "The 
Life of Mary Lyon, ' ' published by the American 
Tract Society, and to the "Five Women of 
England, ' ' and ' ' The Heroes of Bohemia, ' ' pub- 
lished by the Presbyterian Board of Publication. 
The author would be doing violence to his feel- 
ings did he not also here acknowledge his great 
obligation to the editorial corps of the Tract So- 
ciety, for corrections and revisions preparatory 
to and during its publication. That the volume 
may be blessed to the leading of many readers to 
accept the faith which produced these Heroes 
and Heroines is our earnest prayer. A. r. 



HEROES AND HEROINES. 



"ST. PATRICK." 

Some time in the year 377, while the Roman 
power was yet in its glory — for Julian and his 
persecutions . had passed away, and Jovian and 
Gratian had introduced a large degree of liberty, 
both civil and religious, throughout the empire — 
there was born in North Britain, in a humble 
cottage near to a place known as Kilpatrick, a 
child destined to accomplish a great work in the 
neighboring kingdom of Ireland, and to have 
his name pass down in the history of the church 
as the patron saint of that island. The child's 
father was named Calphornius; he was the son 
of the pious presbyter Potitus, who had sent him 
to France to be instructed in the evangelical 
religion by the then celebrated Martin of Tours. 
It appeared afterwards that this teacher had a 
sister, by name Conche, who had ability to teach 
the art of loving, and, as a result, she became 
the wife of Calphornius, and returned with hiiu 



8 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

to his far-off home in Scotland. In due time 
she became the mother of the hero of our 
sketch, the celebrated u St. Patrick." 

At that period it was no uncommon thing 
for the Irish Scots to make a raid in Britain, 
and carry away, along with produce and cattle, 
such of the inhabitants as they could seize. 
About the year 393 a band of these marauders 
passed near the home of Calphornius, and car- 
ried away his son, then a lad of some sixteen 
years. Like Jacob, when Joseph was taken 
away, his parents no doubt refused to be com- 
forted under such a sad calamity; but, as in 
Joseph's case, God meant it for good. Though 
Patrick made his escape to Scotland after a few 
months, he was again carried off, and for six 
long years he remained in bondage, almost for- 
getting his own tongue in the use of the bar- 
barous dialect used among his captors. But 
he continued free from their superstition and 
immorality, and longed to bring them to know 
that religion which was his own solace in sorrow. 

In his " Confession" — one of two short epis- 
tles which have been preserved from his pen, 
and which scholars now regard as authentic — 
he says, ( ' My constant business was to keep the 
flocks. I was frequent in prayers. The love 
and fear of God more and more inflamed my 



"ST. PATRICK." 9 

heart. My faith and spirit were enlarged so 
that I said a hundred prayers in a day, and 
nearly as many at night; and in the woods and 
in the mountains I remained, and before the 
light I arose to my prayers, in the snow, in the 
frost, and in the rain, and I experienced no 
evil at all. ' ' 

Near the close of the sixth year of these 
labors, he dreamed that he would find a vessel 
on the seacoast which would take him back to 
his parents. He found the vessel, and though 
refused a passage at first, yet his fervent prayer 
brought down the Holy Spirit to influence the 
heart of one of the crew, who took him on board 
the vessel and protected him. On the third day 
he reached land, and, after a journey of twenty- 
eight days, came to his childhood home, where 
he was received as one from the dead. 

The following thirty years of his life cannot 
certainly be accounted for. It is thought that 
he visited his uncle Martin, of Tours, and 
studied, and was ordained to the gospel min- 
istry, and that he then returned, and labored for 
a short time in his native land. Be this as it 
m&y, in the " Confession " to which we have 
alluded he says, ' ' I saw in my dream a man 
coming to me from Ireland, whose name was 
Victorious, with a great number of letters. He 



io HEROES AND HEROINES. 

gave me one of them, in the beginning of which 
was the word Hiberniacum. While I was read- 
ing this I thought I heard the voice of the 
inhabitants who lived near the woods of Floclu 
crying with one voice, 4 We entreat the holy 
youth that you come here and walk among us. ' 
I was greatly touched in my heart, and could 
read no more; and then I awoke." This deter- 
mined him to go as a missionary to the land 
from which, years before, he had escaped. 

Mrs. Wright, in her " Early British Church," 
says : * ' Tradition is that Patrick, with some com- 
panions, landed at Wicklow, and then proceeded 
to the North, preaching as they went, and ma- 
king some converts — possibly finding now and 
then a family holding some remnant of the faith 
received from Britain. The first object of Pat- 
rick was to reach his old master and the scene 
of his slavery, there to preach gospel freedom. 
On his way, it is said, he converted a chief 
named Dicho, who gave him the site of his barn 
for a church, 'which they carefully built stand- 
ing north and south, to rebuke superstitions 
which were rising to assert that the churches 
must stand east and west.' At Tara, Patrick 
preached with much success to the king and 
chiefs; crowds flocked to hear him, and many 
were converted." 



"ST. PATRICK: 1 u 

His success continued, and he ordained bish- 
ops and presbyters by hundreds and thousands. 
We suppose, from the numbers ordained, that 
preachers and elders are meant, and the historic 
statement of the inspired Word would describe 
his conduct, as well as that of Paul and Barna- 
bas : ' ' And when they had ordained them elders 
in every church, and had prayed, with fasting, 
they commended them to the Lord." Thus, 
without the authority of pope or bishop, he gave 
himself to the noble work of preaching the gospel 
to save the very men who had held him so long 
in bondage. 

There can be no doubt that he accomplished 
a great work for Ireland. The old legend of his 
driving all the snakes out of the island had its 
origin, no doubt, in the driving out of wicked- 
ness, and the conversion of wicked men. It is 
generally believed that he furnished the people 
with a translation of the Holy Scriptures. The 
two short compositions to which we have already 
alluded are said to contain at least forty-three 
quotations from the Scriptures, and we can easily 
believe that that which he valued so much, and 
which in these short epistles he sent to others, 
he would not withhold from his beloved converts 
in Ireland. 

The first named of these epistles was directed, 



12 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

in Ills " Confession, " to his " Gallican brethren, 
and the many thousand spiritual children that 
God had given him. ' ' The other was addressed 
to Carvdoc, a Welsh chief. They found their 
way into some of the monasteries, and in those 
respositories of letters during the dark ages they 
lay a thousand years, and finally were published 
about 1660. As a matter of course, the circum- 
stances of Patrick's life gave the Romish priest- 
hood an excellent opportunity to claim that he 
was one of the Fathers of the Romish Church, 
instead of being, as he was, a presbyter of the 
British Church, over which the Bishop of Rome 
had no authority. It is probable that his labors 
in Ireland extended through a period of twenty- 
three years, from 432 to 455, when he died at 
Armagh, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. 

Here it is worthy of note that when Patrick 
set out on his noble mission, he was about fifty- 
five years old — an age now-a-days considered al- 
most the age of retirement. The fact that his 
memory is so revered in the land of his adop- 
tion shows the wonderful influence that he must 
have exerted over the people, and furnished cer- 
tainly a strong motive to the Roman-catholic 
Church to claim him as one of her saints, when 
she had subdued the island and brought it under 
her control. But long before she was known 



"ST. PATRICK." 13 

there he founded a church, and even as late as 
1 1 70 the Synod of that old Irish Church, founded 
by Patrick, met in Armagh, where his bones lay 
buried, to confess their sins and deprecate the 
' ' scourge of God " — the papal soldiers from Eng- 
land now bringing them into subjection to the 
Romish faith. When this was accomplished, 
Patrick was claimed as a Romish saint. It is 
only of late that Protestants have taken the 
trouble to vindicate his name from this claim, 
but it has been effectually done by such writers 
as Archbishop Usher, and Dr. Todd, of Dublin, 
and our own Mrs. Wright in her work already 
named. 

What a noble act was that performed by 
Patrick in leaving his home and friends to go 
to a people who had made him a slave and kept 
him in bondage six long years, that he might 
tell the story of the infinite love of God as 
manifested in the death of his only-begotten and 
well-beloved Son, to save us. Oh that we had 
more of the same self-sacrificing missionary spirit 
in the church of to-day. 



14 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



JOHN WICKLIFFE. 

John Wickuffe was the John the Baptist, 
or as some one has said, the ' i morning star ' ' of 
the Reformation. He was born in 1324, about 
one hundred and sixty years before Luther, and 
nearly fifty years before John Huss, in a village 
in Yorkshire, England, at one of the darkest 
periods in the history of the church, and as might 
be inferred, one of the most degraded periods 
in the history of the country. A writer thus 
describes the priests of that period: "The main 
object of those who called themselves ministers 
of Christ was to enslave the minds and plunder 
the property of the people committed to their 
charge; they kept from them the truths of the 
gospel, and sought to be reverenced as beings 
superior to their fellow-men, while they indulged 
every debasing appetite." And with such spir- 
itual leaders, it is easy to believe that the wicked- 
ness and profligacy of the people were very great. 
Subsequently, in one of his tracts, WicklifFe 
wrote concerning the conduct of parents at this 
period: u With much travail and cost they get 
riches and estates and benefices for their children, 







oJ€)ffl"W WKCIOLITFIFIE 



JOHN WICKLIFFE. j 5 

and often to their greater damnation; but they 
incline not to get for their children the goods of 
grace and a virtuous life. ' ' 

Wickliffe's parents designed him for the 
priesthood, and in due time entered him at 
Queen's College, Oxford, but he afterward con- 
nected himself with Mertou College. It appears 
that he made great proficiency in his studies, 
and — what was strange at that time — he turned 
his attention to the study of the Scriptures, and, 
as a result, became dissatisfied with the scholastic 
divinity of the age. 

At about this period the mendicant friars were 
exerting themselves with much zeal to obtain 
proselytes among the students, and Wickliffe 
wrote several tracts exposing their character and 
designs, one entitled u Of the Property of Christ 
Against Able Beggary, and of Idleness in Beg- 
gary." This opposition at the time gained him 
popularity, and he was accordingly appointed 
master of Balliol College and afterward warden 
of Canterbury Hall, and presented with the living 
of Fillingham. 

At this same period Urban V. demanded the 
payment of an annual tribute from England 
of one thousands marks, promised by King John 
to Pope Innocent III. as an acknowledgment of 
the pontiff's feudal superiority and right to the 



16 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

disposal of the kingdom. Wickliffe attacked the 
papal claim. This led him also to examine the 
character of the Romish prelates, and ta publish 
a treatise on the subject, in which he urges, 
among other things, ' c If thou art a priest, and by 
name a curate, live thou a holy life. Pass other 
men in holy prayer, holy desire and holy speak- 
ing, in counselling and teaching the truth. 
Ever keep the commandments of God, and let 
his gospel be ever in thy mouth. Ever despise 
sin, that men may be drawn therefrom, and that 
thy deeds may be so far right that no man shall 
blame them with reason. Let thy open life be 
thus a true book in which the soldier and layman 
may learn to serve God and keep his command- 
ments; for the example of a good life, if it be 
open and continued, striketh rude men much 
more than open preaching with the word alone. M 
Noble words; but they were not pleasing to 
Rome. Accordingly the papal court, in 1370, de- 
cided against the continuance of Wickliffe in his 
wardenship. He still, however, continued in 
the work of preaching the gospel. In 1372 he 
was admitted as a doctor or lecturer of divinity, 
and many of his lectures were published, notably 
one on the Lord's Prayer. 

The papal court was in the habit of filling 
the best offices in the church w T ith foreigners, a 



JOHN WICKLIFFE. 17 

thing very detestable to many, even of the strict 
adherents of the church. Accordingly in 1374 
an embassy was sent to the continent to protest 
against this course of conduct. Wickliffe was 
one of the delegates, and he returned from Bruges, 
where the conference with the papal envoys was 
held, as Luther returned from Rome, with his 
eyes opened to the enormous wickedness of the 
pope. He was, he said, Antichrist, ' l the most 
cursed of [coin] clippers and purse kervers [cut- 
ters]. " Wickliffe was soon after appointed a 
prebendary of the collegiate church of Westbury, 
and finally rector of Lutterworth. 

In the meantime a convocation was called, 
and Wickliffe was cited to appear in St. Paul's 
cathedral and answer to the charge of heresy; 
but the duke of Lancaster accompanied him, and 
through his influence the trial amounted to noth- 
ing. In the same year, 1377, the pope issued a 
bull addressed to the archbishop of Canterbury, 
the bishop of London, the king, and the univer- 
sity of Oxford, requiring them to seize and im- 
prison Wickliffe. 

He was not seized, but early in 1378 he was 
cited to appear before his superiors at Lambeth. 
Edward III. having died, was succeeded by 
Richard II., and for political reasons the duke of 
Lancaster now took less interest in Wickliffe' s 

Heroes, n 



iS HEROES AND HEROINES. 

safety. But tlie people rallied around him, and 
from this trial also he escaped unharmed. This 
same year Pope Gregory XL died, and his death 
was succeeded by what is known in the history 
of the church as u the Great Western Schism." 
For forty years, from 1378 to 1418, two, and 
sometimes three, rival popes were arrayed against 
each other, and hurled anathemas at one another, 
sufficient, one would think, to show that every 
one of them was Antichrist. This was a favora- 
ble period for Wickliffe, and he improved it in 
preaching and publishing. 

It is said that his publications numbered 
several hundred, and as the art of printing was 
yet in its infancy and had not come into general 
use, we can see what labor was involved in the 
diffusion of these works by the aid of transcribers. 
Next in importance to the translation of the 
Scriptures, which noble work we shall notice 
again, was the volume entitled "Trialogus," 
consisting of a series of dialogues between three 
allgorical personages — Aletheia or Truth, Pseudos 
or Falsehood, and Phronesis or Wisdom. Their 
discussion embraced the whole round of theology, 
and of course attacked the errors of Rome, espe- 
cially caricaturing " Transubstantiation. " A 
convocation of Romish doctors was called soon 
after the publication of this work, the doctrines 



JOHN WICKLIFFE, 19 

of Wickliffe were condemned, and sentence cf 
excommunication was pronounced against all 
members of the university of Oxford who should 
teach such tenets. 

A synod was called in 1382 by Courteney, 
the archbishop of Canterbury, who repeated the 
foregoing sentence. Parliament was then ap- 
plied to for a law to punish heretics, and the 
House of Lords passed a bill which, though 
never really a law, was used as such by the 
prelates. The statute ran thus: "That divers 
evil persons went from county to county, and 
town to town, in certain habits under dissimula- 
tion of great holiness, without license of the 
ordinaries or other authorities, preaching daily not 
only in the churches and churchyards, but also 
in the markets, fairs, and other open places 
where great congregations were assembled, divers 
sermons containing heresies and notorious errors, 
etc. It was therefore enacted that all such 
preachers, and also their favorers, maintainers 
and abettors, should be arrested and held in 
strong prison, till they justify themselves accord- 
ing to the law and reason of the holy church 
before the prelates. ' ' 

An assembly soon after convened at Oxford, 
when Wickliffe was cited to answer, and he 
boldly defended himself and maintained his prin- 



20 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

ciples, though with the apostle Paul he could 
say, ( c All men forsook me. ' ' God however was 
present with him, and delivered him as far as 
his life was concerned. But a decree was ob- 
tained from the king expelling him and his 
adherents from the university within seven days. 

Wickliffe was at last summoned to Rome ta 
answer before Pope Urban VI., but he excused 
himself on account of his age and infirmities; and 
as the rival popes were now engaged in maintain- 
ing their claims with carnal weapons, since their 
anathemas did not end the dispute, Wickliffe 
escaped. 

He continued to labor in his pulpit at Lutter- 
worth and with his pen, for he wrote, "To live 
and be silent is with me impossible; the guilt of 
such treason against the Lord of heaven is more 
to be dreaded than many deaths. ' ' He was also 
engaged at this period in revising his trans- 
lation of the Bible, from the Latin version called 
the Vulgate, into English, a work in which 
he had been assisted by his pupil, Nicholas de 
Hereford. This was his great work, and it 
accomplished much for the cause which he ad- 
vocated. A Romish historian, speaking of it, 
said, *' Wickliffe made a new translation of the 
Scriptures, multiplied the copies by the aid of 
transcribers, and by his poor priests recommended 



JOHN WICKLIFFE. 21 

it to the perusal of their hearers. In their hands 
it became an engine of wonderful power. Men 
were flattered by the appeal to their private judg- 
ment; the new doctrines insensibly acquired 
partisans and protectors in the higher classes, 
who alone were acquainted with the use of 
letters; a spirit of inquiry w r as generated; and 
the seeds were sown of that religious revolution 
which in little more than a century astonished 
and convulsed the nations of Europe. ' ' 

c ' By means of colporteurs, then called Lol- 
lards, or babblers, a nickname of reproach which 
the enemies of Wickliffe's doctrines gave to those 
who professed them, Wickliffe scattered his trans- 
lation over the kingdom. His devoted followers, 
with copies of the Psalms, the Gospels or other 
portions of the Scripture, would start on a tour, 
and at night would stop at some dwelling, where 
they were sure of a welcome for the news they 
would bring. At that period no traveller was 
ever refused hospitality, for it was through the 
tales of travellers that those who stayed quietly 
at home obtained news of the outside world. 
And our travellers, in detailing their news, would 
tell of the controversy about religious questions, 
and recount the arguments of Wickliffe; and 
after a while, when asked if the Bible really 
taught such doctrine, the translation would be 



22 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

introduced and sold. Thus the seeds of divine 
truth were scattered far and wide, and many 
rejoiced in their new-found Saviour. 

But Wickliffe's work was near an end. For 
two years he had been assisted at Lutterworth by 
a curate, and yet it is said that he was officiating 
in the church when seized with the attack of 
paralysis which ended his earthly life, December 
31, 1384. He was peacefully buried in his quiet 
parish churchyard, but Rome would not allow 
the remains of such a heretic to rest in peace. 
Accordingly, the Council of Constance, in 141 5, 
thirty-one years after his death, ordered his bones 
to be taken up and burned. This order was 
complied with in 1428, and, as Fuller says, 
"His dust was cast into the rivulet near by, 
and carried to the Avon, by the Avon to the 
Severn, and by the Severn to the sea, and thus 
his ashes were spread throughout the world, 
emblematic of the spread of his doctrines. ' ' 

Concerning this noble man, Milton wrote, 
' l When I recall to mind, after so imany dark ages, 
wherein the huge overshadowing train of error 
had almost swept all the stars out of the firma- 
ment of the church, how the bright and blissful 
Reformation (by divine power) struck through 
the black and settled night of ignorance and 
antichristian tyranny, methinks a sovereign and 



JOHN WICKLIFFE. 23 

reviving joy must needs rush into the bosom of 
him that hears and reads, and the sweet odor of 
returning gospel imbathe his soul with the fra- 
grancy of heaven. Then was the sacred Bible 
sought out of the dusty corners where profane 
falsehoods and neglect had thrown it; the schools 
were opened; divine and human learning was 
raked out of the embers of forgotten tongues; the 
princes and cities came trooping apace to the 
new-erected banner of salvation; the martyrs, 
with the unresistible might of weakness, arose, 
shaking the powers of darkness, and scorning the 
fiery rage of the old red dragon, and our Wick- 
liffe's preaching was the lamp at which all the 
succeeding reformers lighted their tapers. \ ' 



24 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



WILLIAM TYNDALE. 

In the year 1536 there lay in the prison of 
Vilvoorden, in the Netherlands, a noted English- 
man. A pretended friend, in the pay of the 
Roman - catholic Church, had, Judas -like, be- 
trayed him to the civil authorities at Antwerp, 
and now he lies in a prison cell, from which in 
a short time he will be taken to be strangled, 
and then his body will be burned. Surely he 
must have been guilty of some great crime to 
call for such savage treatment. 

What could have been his offence ? Nothing, 
except that he translated the New Testament 
from the Greek into English, and secured the 
printing of it, and its circulation among the 
people. This was the terrible offence which 
William Tyndale committed, and for which the 
Romish priests secured his death. But his work 
still lives, for his translation was the basis of our 
present authorized version, which is now circula- 
ted and read by tens of thousands wherever the 
English language is known; and even in Rome 
itself, under the shadow of St. Peter's, the pope 
is powerless to prevent its use. All honor to the 



' WILLIAM TYNDALE. 25 

pioneer in this noble work of translating the Bible 
from the original tongues into English ! 

William Tyndale was born about 1484, in the 
Severn Valley, England, and was sent to Oxford 
to pursue his studies. During his stay there, the 
edition of the Greek New Testament published 
by Erasmus in 151 6 awakened much discussion 
in England, as well as on the Continent. Tyn- 
dale examined it, and such was the power of its 
truth on his heart that he was soon suspected of 
heresy, and, although he had received an appoint- 
ment as tutor in Cardinal Wolsey's newly formed 
college, he was obliged to leave Oxford and seek 
refuge in Cambridge. Here he found two kin- 
dred spirits, namely, Bilney and Fryth, who after- 
wards nobly earned the right to claim the prom- 
ise, " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give 
thee a crown of life, ' ' for both, some years before 
Tyndale, went to heaven from the stake. 

Tyndale, however, after a sojourn of two 
years, found it necessary to leave Cambridge, and 
happily found a position as tutor in the family of 
Sir John Walsh, of Sodbury. Having taken or- 
ders as a priest, he preached the gospel with such 
eloquence in a little church belonging to the es- 
tate that the people began to think " a second St. 
John had appeared in bigoted, priest-ridden Eng- 
land/' Soon the little church was too small for 



26 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

his audience, and he repaired to a meadow; and 
multitudes, chiefly from the neighboring city of 
Bristol, flocked to hear him. 

This public proclamation of the gospel pro- 
duced great excitement among the priests, and 
soon the preacher's doctrines were attacked. How 
shall he defend himself? The wife of his patron 
said to him one day, "Well, there was such a 
doctor, who may spend a hundred pounds, and 
another two hundred pounds, and another three 
hundred pounds, and what were it reason, think 
you, that we should believe you before them?" 
Tyndale at once saw the force of her remark, and 
felt that a standard of doctrine should be provi- 
ded to which all might appeal; with church au- 
thority as the standard, a reformer could make no 
progress; the Word of God must be placed in the 
hands of the people as the true touchstone of doc- 
trine. "To the law and to the testimony: if 
they speak not according to this word, it is be- 
cause there is no light in them. ' ' 

Accordingly, Tyndale determined to translate 
the Scriptures into the vernacular tongue. To 
use his own words, in speaking of the priests, he 
says, "A thousand books had they rather to be 
put forth against their abominable doings and 
doctrine, than that the Scriptures should come to 
light. For as long as they may keep that down, 



WILLIAM TYNDALE. 27 

they will so darken the right way with the mist 
of their sophistry, and so tangle them that either 
rebuke or despise their abominations, with argu- 
ments of philosophy, and with worldly similitudes 
and apparent reasons of natural wisdom, and with 
wresting the Scriptures to their own purposes, 
clean contrary to the meaning of the text" 

It was now nearly a century and a half since 
Wickliffe's translation of the Bible was first sent 
out in manuscript over England. It had circu- 
lated extensively for a time, and awakened in 
many a love for the Scriptures and a disposition 
to regard them as the only source of religious 
truth. But the persecution of the Lollards under 
Henry IV. and Henry V., and their general, 
though not total, suppression in the reign of the 
latter monarch, had again shut up the Bible from 
the English people. And even if Wickliffe's 
translation had continued to be accessible to Eng- 
lish readers, there were reasons why a new ver- 
sion would still have been desirable. First, Wick- 
liffe's translation was wanting in accuracy, being 
but a translation of a translation — the Latin Vul- 
gate ; and, in the second place, the English lan- 
guage throughout this period was undergoing 
considerable change, so that the language of 
Wickliffe was very different from the speech in 
common use in the days of Tyndale. So con- 



2S HEROES AND HEROINES. 

stant and rapid was this change that William 
Caxton, the celebrated printer and translator who 
introduced the printing-press into England in 
1476, declared, almost in despair at the mutabil- 
ity of his mother tongue, c c Our language now 
used varieth far from that which was used and 
spoken when I was born. ' ' 

Now, though the opposition of the church 
made every attempt to bring the Scriptures with- 
in the reach of the people hazardous, there was 
still much to favor such an enterprise. The new 
thirst for learning had revived the knowledge of 
Hebrew and Greek, the languages in which God 
gave his Word to his prophets and apostles ; and 
printing-presses were capable of multiplying cop- 
ies of the Scriptures with speed, accuracy, and 
comparative cheapness. 

In accordance with the Saviour's direction, 
"When they persecute you in one city, flee ye 
into another," Tyndale, hoping to find a place in 
which he might accomplish the work upon which 
he had determined, now bade farewell to his 
friends, and turned his steps to London. He had 
not yet renounced his allegiance to the Romish 
Church, and so he sought employment as a priest. 
He was appointed preacher in St. Dunstan's soon 
after he reached London ; and here, as in the little 
church at Sodbury, his eloquence made him fa- 



WILLIAM TYXDALE. 29 

mous, and great crowds flocked to hear him. Ke 
soon attracted the notice of Bishop Tonstall, who, 
if he had not lacked the moral courage, would 
have befriended him; but, as it was, God raised 
him up a friend in a merchant named Humphrey 
Monmouth, -who attended his preaching, and gave 
him a home in his house. 

Here he labored diligently at his translation of 
the New Testament ; and after a while he was 
joined by his friend John Pryth, when the work 
w r as prosecuted with increased vigor. But such a 
work could not escape the argus eyes of priests, 
and it was soon found that Tyndale must flee to 
save his life. When informed of the fact, he ex- 
claimed in sorrow of heart, u Alas, is there no 
place in England where I can translate the Bi- 
ble f" Then, gathering up his papers, and with 
ten pounds in his pocket, furnished by his friend 
Monmouth, he embarked on a vessel bound for 
Hamburg. 

Here he was kindly received by a few Chris- 
tian friends, and he resumed his work with re- 
newed energy. But having unwittingly received 
into his employment an unworthy man, he found 
it necessary to get rid of him ; so he left the city 
and went on a visit to the German reformers at 
Wittenberg. Thence he repaired to Cologne, 
with the hope that he might be able to print his 



30 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

Testament, and have it introduced into England, 
by means of the facilities which this city offered. 

Accordingly, having received some money 
from his old friend in London, he ordered three 
thousand copies of his New Testament printed. 
But one day the printer came to him with trouble 
on his face: the printing had been interdicted, 
and he himself was in danger. Tyndale at once 
fled with his MSS. and finally reached Worms, 
where, a few years before, Luther had so nobly 
defended the truth. Here, in the year 1525, some 
three years later than Luther's German New Tes- 
tament, Tyndale' s English edition was published, 
and was carried by means of merchant vessels 
from Antwerp and Rotterdam to England, reach- 
ing there early in 1526. Thus this poor priest, 
hunted from English soil as a wild beast, became 
one of England's greatest benefactors, and ought 
yet to have a monument in Westminster Abbey. 

Of the reception of Tyndale' s translation in 
England, Taine, in his work on ( ( English Liter- 
ature," says: "One hid his book in a hollow 
tree; another learned by heart an Epistle and a 
Gospel, so as to be able to ponder it to himself 
even in the presence of his accusers. When sure 
of his friend he speaks with him in private; and 
peasant talking to peasant, laborer to laborer, you 
know what the effect could be. It was the yeo- 



WILLIAM TYNDALE. 31 

men's sons, as Latimer said, who, more than 
others, maintained the faith of Christ in England, 
and it was with the yeomen's sons that Cromwell 
afterwards reaped his Puritan victories. When 
such words are whispered through a nation all 
official voices clamor in vain. The nation has 
found its poem; it stops its ears to the troublesome 
would-be distractors, and presently sings it out 
with a full voice and from a full heart. ' ' 

From Worms Tyndale went to Marburg, to be 
under the protection of Philip of Hesse, and be- 
gan his translation of the Old Testament. From 
this retreat he sent out several editions of the 
New Testament and other books, including one 
entitled "The Obedience of a Christian Man," 
which is said to have been read by Anne Boleyn, 
and to have disposed her towards Protestantism. 
In 1529 Tyndale, for some reason, left his safe re- 
treat for Hamburg, with a translation of Genesis 
and Deuteronomy, which he expected to print 
there; but the ship was wrecked, and Tyndale lost 
his MSS. and barely escaped with his life. He 
afterwards returned to Marburg, and continued 
there some five years, busy, no doubt, in his work 
of translating, when he again left Marburg and 
went to Antwerp. 

His enemies in England, who had been a 
long time seeking to find him, discovered 



32 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

that he was at last within their reach, and 
a monk was despatched to entrap him and se- 
cure his arrest. Accordingly, as we have already 
stated, he was betrayed by this pretended friend, 
arrested, and removed to the strong prison at Vil- 
voorden, a town in Brabant, about twenty miles 
south of Antwerp. There, on the 6th of Octo- 
ber, 1536, he died for the so-called crime of circu- 
lating the Bible in the vernacular tongue of the 
people. It is said that his last words were a 
prayer for King Henry VIII. , who had procured 
his execution. Even his old adversary, Sir 
Thomas More, said, when he heard of the result, 
" Meaner men have worn the bishop's cope." 

Yes, few nobler men than Tyndale ever wore 
a bishop's mitre; few men of any class have done 
more for Christianity than William Tyndale, and 
bright must be the crown that he now wears be- 
fore the throne. Emphatically can it be said of 
him, ( ' Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. 
Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from 
their labors; and their works do follow them." 

Our sketch of this reformer would not be com- 
plete without a few more words in regard to the 
great work for which he laid down his life. 

Only parts of his translation of the Old Tes- 
tament were printed before his death; other parts 
were left by him in MSS. From Tyndale' s ver- 



WILLIAM TYNDALE. 33 

sions, and a translation from Latin and German 
translations, made by Miles Coverdale and pub- 
lished by him in 1535, John Rogers, afterwards 
the first martyr of Queen Mary's reign, prepared 
an edition of the Bible, which he, under the as- 
sumed name of Thomas Matthew, published in 
London in 1537, and for which the royal sanc- 
tion, making it the first authorised version of the 
Scriptures, was secured. Thus, a year after Tyn- 
dale's death, there was circulated by the license 
of the king a work in which was incorporated 
the same translation which this same king had 
repeatedly condemned, and had actually prohib- 
ited seven years before. What a triumph for the 
friends of Tyndale and for all the lovers of the 
truth! Now " England," as Taine says, "had 
her book. Every one . . . who could buy this 
book either read it assiduously or had it read to 
him by others, and many well advanced in years 
learned to read with the same object." 

A revision of the " Thomas Matthew" edition 
appeared in 1539, and was known, from its large 
sue, as the Great Bible. This, again, was re- 
vised about 1563, the new revision being called 
the Bishops' Bible, from the circumstance that 
eight bishops were among the revisers. And, 
finally, upon the Bishops' Bible our own King 
James' Version of 161 1 was based. 



34 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



JOHN HUSS. 

Outside the gate of Constance, a free city in 
the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, on July 6, 
in the year 1415, there stood, surrounded by a 
large crowd of all classes and conditions of peo- 
ple, a man fastened to the stake by a chain, while 
around him were the fagots which would soon 
consume his body. Looking around on the mul- 
titude, this man said, "The chief aim of all my 
declarations, teachings, and writings has been to 
bring men to repentance and the forgiveness of 
sins, according to the truths of the gospel of 
Christ and the teachings of the Fathers. I gladly 
this day seal that truth which I have written and 
proclaimed with the pledge of my death. \ } 

John Huss, who made this noble declaration, 
had just been condemned by the Council of Con- 
stance. He had come from his native Bohemia 
trusting in a promise that a safe-conduct, or guar- 
anty of personal safety, would be furnished him 
by the emperor of Germany, and soon after his 
arrival at Constance the safe-conduct had actually 
been presented to him. But the dignitaries of 
the Catholic Church, acting on the principle 



JOHN HUSS. 35 

"that faith is not to be kept with heretics," dis- 
regarded the imperial assurance, arrested Huss, 
gave him the form of a trial, and condemned him 
to be burned at the stake, because it was shown 
that he favored iii some measure the doctrines of 
Wickliffe. His life, however, was not ended 
until he had accomplished a great work for the 
cause of the Redeemer, and doubtless his death 
added much to the effect of the doctrine he had 
so ably proclaimed. 

Huss was born July 6, 1369, in Bohemia, in 
the village of Hussinete, whence he derived his 
surname, abbreviated by himself from Hussinetz, 
or de Hussinetz. At this time Charles IV. , em- 
peror of Germany, resided at Prague, in Bohe- 
mia, and his daughter Anne was afterwards mar- 
ried to King Richard II. of England. This con- 
nection became the means of opening up inter- 
course between the two kingdoms, and aided 
largely in introducing the doctrines of Wickliffe 
into Bohemia. The first university established 
in the German Empire was founded at Prague 
by Charles IV., in 1348, some twenty-one years 
before the birth of our reformer. This institu- 
tion, which soon became the rival of the already 
famous universities of Oxford, Paris, and Bologne, 
exerted a strong influence throughout the empire 
in favor of independent investigation, and thus 



36 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

prepared the people for listening to the doctrine 
of such men as Huss. The first school to which 
John was sent was a monastery, where his ex- 
traordinary progress attracted the attention of his 
teachers; and when his father died and left his 
family in poverty, a noble of the village took 
charge of the bright boy's education, and sent 
him to a High School, where he graduated. But 
the desire for greater educational advantages was 
burning in his bosom, and he determined to go to 
Prague. God had work for him to do, and im- 
planted this desire in his heart that he might seek 
the necessary preparation for it. Accordingly, 
he told his mother that God would take care of 
them, and she accompanied him to Prague, where 
he entered the university in 1389. Here he found 
able professors and crowds of students, many of 
them men whose hearts God had touched, and 
who sought to know the truth, and accepted it, 
fearless of the results that might come to them 
from advocating it. Indeed, it would seem as if 
Huss was impressed with the thought, at this 
early period of his history, that he would be 
called to suffer. Accordingly, it is said that he 
once thrust his hand into the fire to test his power 
of endurance, as if to embolden himself for his 
coming fate. 

At this period the forty years' schism of the 



JOHN HUSS. 37 

papacy, which arrayed a French pope against an 
Italian pope, unsettling the minds even of those 
who were disposed to be obedient children of the 
pontiff, was raging in all its fury. When one 
pope hurled his anathemas at the other, and the 
other replied, calling his opposer a heretic, a 
thief, a despot, a traitor, it was natural to con- 
clude that neither of them was the infallible 
head of the church, as both claimed to be; and 
thus many people were prepared to listen to what 
the Bible had to say respecting the question. 

Huss received the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, 
Bachelor of Theology, and Master of Arts, in 
1393, 1394, and 1396 respectively; and such was 
his reputation as a scholar that in 1401 he was 
elected Dean of the Philosophical Faculty, and 
afterwards was selected as confessor to the queen 
of Bohemia. These positions secured for him 
many friends, and an opportunity to proclaim the 
truths of the gospel. His career, however, as a 
preacher, did not fully begin until 1402, when he 
was made pastor of Bethlehem chapel, Prague — 
a building reared by private munificence for the 
purpose of preaching the Word of God in the 
language of the people; for the services of the 
churches, being almost wholly in the Latin 
tongue, could not be understood by the common 
people. The chapel was chiefly erected and 



38 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

probably sustained by the beneficence of John of 
Mulheim, a man zealous for the spread of gospel 
truth; to Huss it was the throne of his power, 
where he was enabled to expose with trumpet- 
tongue the ignorance, drunkenness, and avarice 
of the popish priesthood. 

In 1405 Archbishop Sbynko, of Prague, ap- 
pointed Huss one of the three commissioners to 
examine into an alleged miracle whose fame was 
drawing crowds of pilgrims to Wilsnack, near 
Wittenberg. On the unfavorable report of the 
commissioners, the archbishop forbade pilgrima- 
ges to Wilsnack from Bohemia, and sanctioned 
the publication of a treatise by Huss condemning 
pretended miracles and ecclesiastical greed, and 
urging Christians to look for Christ's presence in 
his Word rather than in sensible signs. 

In the meantime, Huss was making great prog- 
ress in reformation principles, for, like Luther, 
the prejudices of his mind were all in favor of 
the Romish Church; so that when his friend and 
fellow-martyr, Jerome, showed him, on his return 
from Oxford, one of WicklifFe's theological books, 
he advised him to burn it or throw it into the 
river Moldau. But after a while, when one of 
Huss' associates saw him reading one of the 
books of this arch-heretic, and reminded him of 
the condemnation of his doctrines, Huss replied, 



JOHN HUSS. 39 

"I only wish that my soul, when it leaves the 
body, may reach the place where the soul of this 
excellent writer dwells.' ' He afterwards trans- 
lated and circulated Wickliffe's books, and rec- 
ommended them from his pulpit. 

Archbishop Sbynko continued for several years 
friendly to Huss, whom he had invited to assist 
him in introducing a stricter discipline into his 
diocese; but Huss entered more warmly into the 
cause of reform than the archbishop desired, and 
this circumstance, together with other occurren- 
ces, finally led to a disagreement between them. 

In 1409 Pope Alexander V., influenced prob- 
ably by Sbynko, issued a bull condemning Wick- 
liffe's writings, requiring the abjuration of his 
doctrines, and prohibiting preaching anywhere 
except in the regular churches. In obedience to 
this bull, two hundred volumes of Wickliffe's 
works were committed to the flames in Prague, 
and Huss was prohibited from preaching in Beth- 
lehem Chapel. 

But Huss felt, like Paul, "Woe is me if I 
preach not the gospel;" he appealed to the pope, 
and continued to preach. The people and court 
of Bohemia stood by him, but there was no hope 
of success at Rome, and finally Huss was sum- 
moned to appear at Bologna, and defend himself 
before the pope. By the advice of friends he 



40 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

refused to undertake such a journey, and was 
excommunicated in March, 141 1 ; and when he 
refused to pay any attention" to this, Prague was 
placed under interdict. In that period of spirit- 
ual darkness, this was one of Rome's most pow- 
erful weapons. It prohibited public religious 
services of every kind, and even the Christian 
burial of the dead. This edict, however, brought 
the king to the defence of Huss, and the arch- 
bishop was compelled to beg the pope to annul 
the sentence against him. The pope did so, and 
appointed a commission in the case, who revoked 
the interdict, which, however, had not been ob- 
served. Previous to this, in 1410, Pope Alexan- 
der V. had died, and had been succeeded by John 
XXIII., one of the vilest characters of history. 
With him the controversy went on, being aggra- 
vated by Huss 5 vigorous opposition to the offer of 
an indulgence, or remission of past and future 
sins, proclaimed in Bohemia by papal envoys to 
all who should assist in a crusade against the ex- 
communicated King Ladislaus of Naples. At 
last the pope renewed Huss' sentence of excom- 
munication, and ordered that his person should 
be seized and delivered up to the archbishop of 
Prague to be burned, that every place that har- 
bored him should be laid under interdict, and that 
Bethlehem Chapel should be torn down. The 



JOHN HUSS. 41 

adherents of Huss were determined, however, to 
protect him and the chapel from violence ; and 
the king, though he allowed the publication of 
the bull, would do nothing to execute it; so Huss 
continued to preach to crowds in his chapel, while 
the parish priests from their pulpits proclaimed 
him excommunicated, and strictly observed the 
interdict under which the city lay for sheltering 
the rebel against the pope. So serious were the 
disturbances that ensued that finally King Wen- 
ceslaus himself requested Huss to leave Prague, 
in order that peace might be restored to it. 

About this time the reformer published a trea- 
tise in Latin, in which he took the ground that 
' ' Christ, and not man, is the supreme Head of 

the church The pope is not the successor 

of Christ or Peter merely by virtue of his office, 
but only as he resembles them in spirit, in faith, 
humility, and love," etc. "The office of pope is 
not necessary to the church ; only deacons and 
presbyters are named as officers in the church in 
the Scriptures," etc. " Not every priest is a 
saint, but every saint is a priest," etc. During 
his absence from Prague he occasionally wrote to 
his beloved flock such words as these: " Pray for 
me, that I may more richly write and preach 
against Antichrist, and that God may lead me in 
the battle, and when I am driven to the greatest 



42 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

straits in defence of his truth. For know that I 
shrink not from giving up this poor body for God's 
truth to those who need it. • ' The very persecu- 
tion which drove him into exile was the means of 
sending the gospel to thousands who otherwise 
would not have heard it; for from his retreats 
in the castles of noble friends he went forth and 
preached to crowds who gathered to hear him. 

The unsettled state of the church, which the 
late Council of Pisa (1409) had failed to unite — 
no less than three popes, John XXIII., Gregory 
XII. , and Benedict XIII. , now claiming supreme 
authority — demanded another general council; 
and this John XXIII., who had fled to the Em- 
peror Sigismund for protection, was prevailed 
upon to appoint to be held at Constance, in No- 
vember, 1 41 4. Pope John himself, though con- 
trary to his purpose, attended it; and thirty car- 
dinals, one hundred and fifty bishops, eighteen 
hundred priests, the emperor, and numerous 
princes, noblemen, and knights were present. 
As the troubles in Bohemia were recognised to 
be of so serious a nature as to require the imme- 
diate attention of the council, the emperor sum- 
moned Huss to appear, and promised him a safe- 
conduct, securing his return to Bohemia. Not- 
withstanding this, however, many of his friends 
were alarmed, and expressed their fear that he 



JOHN HUSS. 43 

would never return. But, animated by the same 
spirit that led Luther to Worms, he undertook 
the journey, and was warmly welcomed by many 
friends of reform in the different cities through 
which he passed. 

Four weeks after his arrival at Constance, and 
before he had obtained a hearing, he was impris- 
oned by order of the cardinals ; and when his 
friends besought the emperor on his behalf, Sigis- 
mund, though expressing indignation at the treat- 
ment of Huss, declined to interfere, influenced by 
the apprehension that his espousal of the prison- 
er's cause might lead to the dissolution of the 
council before it had accomplished the purposes 
for which it had convened. Meantime, confine- 
ment and bad air proved injurious to Huss' health, 
and his enemies feared at times that a natural 
death would rob them of their victim. 

After the flight of John XXIII., to avoid ful- 
filling his promise to renounce the papal dignity, 
Huss' condition became still worse; for, after suf- 
fering from hunger for some days, his attendants 
having fled with their master the pope, he was 
removed, March 25, 141 5, from the Dominican 
convent cell to the castle of Gottleben. Here, 
under the surveillance of the bishop of Constance, 
his keepers were harsh, and his friends were for- 
bidden to visit him; he was kept in chains du- 



44 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

ring the day, and at night was fastened to a post. 
Still, however, like Paul in his Roman dungeon, 
he was sustained by the comforts of Christ, and, 
by his conduct and in letters that he wrote, ex- 
pressed cheerful submission to the will of God. 

At length, through the exertions of his friends, 
he was brought before the council on the 5th of 
June; but he was received with such outcries of 
u Recant,'' etc., that he found it impossible to 
defend himself. Indeed, the verdict of guilty had 
already been determined on by his judges; justice 
and fair dealing could not be obtained. At length 
the council adjourned until June 7th, and then 
and on the following day Huss, in his chains, was 
again brought before the council, while extracts, 
declared to be heretical, were read from his wri- 
tings, and he was urged to yield to the decision 
of the assembly, whatever it might be; but he 
nobly declared, 

' ( I am ready to be instructed by the council ; 
but I beseech and conjure you by Him who is the 
God of us all, that you do not force me to what 
I cannot do without contradicting my conscience, 

and without danger of eternal damnation 

As, now, many articles have been imputed to 
me, which to hold or to teach never entered my 
thoughts, how can I renounce them by an oath ? 
But as regards those articles which really belong 



JOHN HUSS. 45 

to me, I will cheerfully do what you require, if 
any one can persuade me to another opinion. ' ' 

" Recant, or die," was, however, the ultima- 
tum of the council, fully concurred in by the em- 
peror. The former Huss could not do, unless 
convinced by the Word of God of his error. The 
latter he could and did do nobly. 

When the flames had done their work, the 
ashes of this faithful witness were thrown into the 
Rhine, that they might not " pollute the earth." 

The spot where the execution is supposed to 
have taken place is now marked by a simple mon- 
ument, bearing the inscription, " Joannes Hus, 
exustus non convictus" — "John Huss, burned, but 
not' convicted. ' ' His real crime was putting the 
authority of the Holy Scriptures above that of the 
church — of Christ above that of the pope. The 
Church of Rome cannot tolerate such doctrine. 
To admit it would seal her own dissolution. 

It is worthy of note that after the removal of 
Huss to the Franciscan convent in Constance, 
where his trial took place, his enemy Balthasar 
Cossa, the ex-Pope John XXIII. , having been 
deposed by the council and accused of abomina- 
ble crimes, was himself closely confined in the 
same castle of Gottleben in which Huss had suf- 
fered so much. 



46 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



JEROME OF PRAGUE. 

The Council of Constance was opened Nov. 
5, 1414, and closed April 22, 1418. There were 
present at it some thirty cardinals, twenty arch- 
bishops, one hundred and fifty bishops, three pa- 
triarchs, and numerous abbots, monks, and priests; 
and, in addition to these clerical members, it was 
attended by the Emperor Sigismund and the am- 
bassadors of several kings, and by princes, dukes, 
barons, knights, and delegates from universities. 
It was an imposing assembly : it had numbers, 
wealth, power, and a large amount of learning ; 
but, judging from its actions, it had little of the 
grace of God, and no adequate knowledge of the 
doctrines of God's holy Word. It condemned the 
works of Wickliffe, and sentenced John Huss to be 
burned; and in less than one year after the execu- 
tion of Huss, Jerome, by order of this same coun- 
cil, was led out and consumed by the flames for 
attesting the truths of the gospel. 

The subject of our sketch was born at Prague, 
of a knightly family, about 1375, some six years 
later than his friend and teacher John Huss. 
He is called Jerome of Prague to distinguish him 



JEROME OF PRAGUE. 47 

from one of the Latin Fathers of the same name, 
the author of the Latin translation of the Old 
Testament called the Vulgate. Of Jerome's early 
youth we know but little; but evidently he had a 
great desire for learning, so that he pursued his 
studies first at the university of his native city, 
then at Heidelberg, at Cologne, at Paris, and at 
Oxford, and finally obtained such a reputation for 
scholarship as led the king of Poland, in 1410, to 
invite him to organize the newly projected uni- 
versity of Cracow. While at Oxford he embraced 
the doctrines of Wickliffe, and it is said that he 
transcribed several of his writings and took them 
back with him to Prague. It is also said that, 
by his advocacy of the English reformer's princi- 
ples at Paris, he aroused the dangerous opposition 
of Gerson, the chancellor of the French univer- 
sity, who was afterwards a leading member of the 
council which condemned him. 

After his return to Prague, about 1407, he be- 
came associated with Huss in the university, and 
aided him largely in bringing about the change 
in the distribution of votes which secured the 
control of the institution to Bohemia. But this 
measure gave great offence to the German mem- 
bers of the university, who had bound themselves 
by a solemn oath to withdraw if their privileges 
were curtailed; and the charge of having sent away 



43 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

the Germans was afterwards brought against both 
Jerome and Huss on their trial at Constance. 

Jerome was not content with advocating his 
new views in his native place; he took long jour- 
neys to propagate that faith which was now so 
precious to him, and on more than one of these 
journeys he was seized and imprisoned for a time. 

Finally, his opposition assumed marvellous 
boldness, when the strength of the Romish party 
is taken into account. In a public discussion 
held in 141 2 he took part on the side of Huss 
against the papal bull lately issued, closing his 
argument with the words, " Whoever holds with 
us, let him follow us. Huss and myself will go 
to the council-house, and tell the council boldly 
to their face that the papal bull and indulgences 
are iniquitous. ) ' 

Some two years after this, when Huss was 
called to leave Prague and to present himself be- 
fore the council at Constance, he was addressed 
by Jerome as follows: "Dear master, stand firm ; 
maintain bravely what you have written and 
preached against the pride, avarice and 1 other 
vices of the churchmen, with argument drawn 
from the Holy Scriptures. Should this task be- 
come too severe for thee — should I learn that thou 
hast fallen into any peril, I will fly at once to thy 
assistance." 



JEROME OF PRAGUE. 49 

Sooner than he expected, probably, Jerome 
was called to make good his promise. In 141 5, 
while Huss was imprisoned in Constance, Jerome 
hastened to see him, and, if possible, to aid him 
in his sore trouble. He soon found, however, 
that he could do nothing to help his friend, and 
that his own liberty and life were in danger. 
Therefore, by the advice of friends, he left the 
city and went to Ueberlingen, on the northern 
shore of the Lake of Constance, whence he wrote 
soliciting a safe-conduct; but instead of being 
furnished with one, he was cited to appear before 
the council and answer certain charges. Yield- 
ing again to the entreaty of friends, Jerome then 
turned his face towards his native Bohemia, 
where he would have been safe ; but on the 24th 
of April, 1415, after having publicly expressed 
his indignation at the injustice of the council, he 
was arrested and imprisoned, at the instigation of 
the priest in the village of Hirschau, in Swabia. 
From there, loaded with chains, he was taken, 
May 23d, to Constance, and dragged through the 
city in triumph. 

The council was much excited at the news of 
his arrest and arrival. Many of its members 
had in former days been overpowered by his elo- 
quence and shamed by his exposure of their char- 
acter and principles, and now anticipated their 



So HEROES AND HEROINES. 

revenge. Even Chancellor Gerson could not re- 
strain himself, but said to him, " Jerome, when 
you came to Paris you fancied yourself, with 
your eloquence, to be an angel of light" 

Jerome was now imprisoned, and Huss, find- 
ing it out, sent an old servant to him with the 
message, " Strengthen thy soul; be mindful of 
that truth which thou hadst so often in thy 
mouth when thou wast at liberty and thy limbs 
were free from shackles. Do not fear to face 
death for it. ' J 

Six weeks after this Huss was burned, and 
poor Jerome, eloquent in speech, but filled with 
fear at such a terrible death, and worn by his 
own cruel confinement, was soon after taken be- 
fore the council, where, step by step, he yielded 
and explained, until, on the 23d of September, 
he finally read a recantation prepared for him 
by Cardinal Cambray, and ended with the words, 
4 c I moreover swear, by the Holy Trinity and by 
these most holy Gospels, that I will abide in the 
truth of the Catholic Church; and I do pronounce 
all those that shall contravene this faith with 
their dogmas worthy of eternal anathema, ' ' etc. 

If Jerome thought to escape the clutches of 
Rome by such concession, he was sadly mistaken. 
If his offence had been theft or murder, he might 
have obtained his release ; but to teach that it 



JEROME OF PR A GUE. 51 

was a question c ' whether the pope possessed more 
power than any other priest, ' ' could not then, and 
indeed would not now, be tolerated in the Romish 
Church. 

Though even the commissioners who had con- 
ducted Jerome's trial acknowledged that by his 
recantation he had earned a right to be set at lib- 
erty, his Bohemian opposers urged that if allowed 
to return home he would again occasion disturb- 
ances by advocating the doctrines which he had 
lately abjured ; and Jerome, though no longer 
closely fettered, was still kept in a noisome and 
dark prison, where he could not see to read or 
write. 

Finally, new charges were formulated against 
him, and a new commission was appointed to 
examine him. But after some progress had been 
made in this second trial, he demanded a public 
examination, and on the 23d and 26th of May, 
1416, from 7 A. m. to 1 p. m., he was permitted 
to defend himself before the assembled council. 
During the dreary months that had followed his 
recantation, the truths which he had formerly 
maintained had, doubtless, regained their power 
over his conscience and affections. After having, 
with admirable skill and eloquence, answered all 
the charges brought against him, he surprised the 
council by boldly passing in review the victims 



52 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

of unjust accusation and hierarchical hate both in 
pagan and Christian times, classing his beloved 
Huss among the number, and confessing, "'Of all 
the sins that I have committed since my youth, 
none weigh so heavily upon my mind, to cause 
me such poignant remorse, as that which I com- 
mitted in this fatal place, when I approved of the 
iniquitous sentence rendered against Wickliffe, 
and against the holy martyr John Huss, my mas- 
ter and friend. ' ' 

Then, facing his judges, he exclaimed, "I 
trust in God . . . that one day . . . you shall see 
Jerome . . . summoning you all to judgment, and 
then you must render your account to God and to 
me, if you have proceeded against me wrong- 
fully." 

This defiance made the fatal issue of the trial 
a certainty, and though the accused had, by the 
evidences of his sufferings and by his eloquence 
and wisdom, won the sympathy of many in the 
council, so that a respite for reflection was grant- 
ed him, repeated efforts to persuade him to a sec- 
ond recantation having proved unavailing, the 
30th of May was appointed for the delivery and 
execution of his sentence. 

On this day, in reply to the bishop's discourse 
setting forth the charges, Jerome again defended 
himself, and rebuked the vices of the clergy. 



JEROME OF PRAGUE, 53 

His sentence was then read, a paper cap, covered 
with pictures of devils in flames, was placed upon 
his head, and he was turned over to the civil 
authorities to be burned. 

Surrounded by a company of soldiers, he was 
led out to meet his sad fate. When he arrived at 
the place of execution, where Huss had suffered 
before him, he knelt and prayed. While he was 
being fastened to the stake he sang a hymn. 
Then, having bidden the executioner light the 
fire before his eyes instead of behind him, de- 
claring that had he been afraid of the flames he 
would not have been there, he addressed the mul- 
titude of spectators, and in a few words reaffirmed 
his belief in the gospel truths which he had sung, 
and in the injustice of the execution of Huss. 
His last audible words were, "Lord God, have 
pity on me; forgive me my sins, for thou know- 
est that I have sincerely loved thy truth." 

Thus humbly and penitently, yet bravely and 
rejoicingly, died Jerome, enabled by his divine 
Master to overcome that natural fear of a horrible 
death which at first had proved a snare to him. 
Even Poggio, the orator of the council, wrote 
that u with cheerful looks he went readily and 
willingly to his death. No stoic ever suffered 
death with so firm a soul as Jerome." 

His ashes were carted away and thrown into 



54 HEROES AND HEROINES, 

the Rhine; but they will be gathered again when 
Christ his Lord shall come. The advocate is 
now silenced, but the cause lives, and will finally 
triumph over all opposers. Meantime, it is true, 
as Dr. Mears so well states in his " Heroes of 
Bohemia" (the volume to which we are chiefly 
indebted for the facts of our sketch), ' ' The most 
illustrious names in the great Council of Con- 
stance are scarcely known beyond the circles of 
antiquarian research, or the northwest lines of 
Romish exclusivism ; but Jerome and Huss shine 
in the light of that great Reformation which 
they anticipated by a century. \ 9 



PA TRICK HAMILTON. 55 



PATRICK HAMILTON. 

On the 1st of March, 1528, some eight years 
before Tyndale was betrayed by a Romish spy, 
Archbishop Beaton condemned Patrick Hamilton 
to be burned because he advocated the doctrines 
of the Reformation, and exposed the errors of 
popery. How he came to embrace these doc- 
trines, then so much opposed by the papal church, 
will appear as we proceed with our sketch. 

Patrick Hamilton was born at Stonehouse, 
near Glasgow, Scotland, in the year 1504. His 
father was a knight of some fame, and his mother 
was a granddaughter of James II. of Scotland. 
In accordance with the custom of those days, 
Patrick was appointed titular abbot of Feme, in 
Ross-shire when but a boy of thirteen. Apparent- 
ly at about the same time, 151 7, he went to study 
in Paris, where he graduated in 1520. Afterwards 
visiting Louvain, in the Netherlands, he probably 
came under the influence of Erasmus. In 1523, 
having returned to Scotland, he connected him- 
self with the university of St. Andrews, and be- 
came a member of its faculty of arts in the 
following year. 



56 HEROES AND HEROINES 

He was now an ardent supporter of the Re- 
formed doctrines, and labored to spread them 
among his countrymen. Before long his evan- 
gelical preaching attracted the attention of Arch- 
bishop Beaton, who in the beginning of 1527 
ordered that he should be charged with heresy. 
Hamilton avoided a trial at this time by escaping 
to Germany. 

Reaching Wittenberg, he listened to the teach- 
ings of Luther and Melancthon, and afterward 
went to Marburg, where he entered his name as 
a student in the new university just opened by 
Philip, landgrave of Hesse. The teacher to 
whom he particularly attached himself here was 
Francis Lambert, a Frenchman by birth, and 
formerly a Carthusian monk, enthusiastic in 
devotion to his order, but who had been con- 
verted by the writings of Luther to the simple 
faith of the gospel. Lambert, becoming inter- 
ested in his pupil, put him forward, notwithstand- 
ing his youth, as a teacher in the university, and 
Hamilton there maintained with more than ordi- 
nary power the doctrines of the reformers. 
There, also, he wrote a treatise on the law and 
the gospel, which was afterwards known by the 
title of " Patrick's Places." And there, too, he 
'held intercourse with Frith and Tyndale. 

But it was with him as with Patrick : he con- 



PATRICK HAMILTON. 



57 



tinually heard a voice calling to him from his 
native land, "Come back; we are perishing for 
lack of knowledge." Doubtless, the Spirit of 
God was leading him to his field of labor and 
suffering. 

Accordingly, in the autumn of 1527 he left his 
many friends and the privileges of the Mar- 
burg university, and returned to his native land. 
Arriving in Scotland he repaired to his brother's 
residence at Kincavel, near Linlithgow, and com- 
menced with renewed zeal the work of preaching 
the gospel and of exposing the errors of Rome. 
At this time, following the example of several 
of the great German reformers, he practically 
repudiated the Romish doctrine of the celibacy 
of the clergy, by marrying a young lady, whose 
name, though she belonged to a noble family, 
has been lost to the historian. 

But his active work w T as not long to be con- 
tinued. Popery had too strong a hold, especially 
among the ruling powers of the nation, to allow 
itself to be uprooted without a determined de- 
fence. Accordingly, Hamilton was summoned to 
St. Andrew's by Archbishop Beaton; and although 
he felt that bonds and imprisonment awaited him, 
he determined to go, that even in the midst of his 
enemies he might witness for Christ. There op- 
portunity was given him to dispute with friars, 



58 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

and to advocate his opinions concerning the re- 
forms which in his judgment were necessary to be 
carried out in the church. But this liberty was 
allowed him for the purpose of securing charges 
against him; and as soon as these were formu- 
lated he was put upon his trial, the charges 
being preferred by a Dominican friar named 
Campbell. 

The principal accusations were that he taught 
that it was proper for the people to read God's 
Word, and that it was useless to offer masses for 
the souls of the dead. Hamilton admitted the 
truth of these charges, and boldly defended his 
doctrine. But his judges, Archbishop Beaton 
and the bishops and clergy associated with him 
in council, could not endure the truths presented 
by their prisoner, which indeed were greatly to 
their disadvantage; for a people before whom an 
open Bible is spread will soon test by it the lives 
and teachings of their pastors, and to abolish 
masses for the dead is to cut off a chief source of 
the revenues of Rome's priesthood. Hamilton 
therefore was quickly condemned, and in a few 
hours afterwards, to avoid any possibility of his 
rescue by influential friends, the stake was pre- 
pared before the gate of St. Salvador College. 

When the martyr w T as brought to the stake, 
he removed his outer garments and gave them to 



PATRICK HAMILTON. 59 

his servant, with the words, " These will not profit 
me in the fire, but they will profit thee. Here- 
after thou canst have no profit from me except 
the example of my death, which I pray thee 
keep in memory, for, though bitter to the flesh 
and fearful before man, it is the door of eternal 
life, which none will attain who denies Christ 
Jesus before this ungodly generation. ' ' 

His agony was prolonged by a slow fire, so 
that his execution lasted some six hours ; but, 
through it all, he manifested true heroism and 
unshaken faith in the truth of the doctrines 
which he preached. His last words were, "How 
long, O Lord, shall darkness brood over this 
realm? How long wilt thou suffer this tyranny 
of man ? Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. ' ' 

Thus, in the bloom of early manhood, died 
Scotland's first Reformation martyr, and his death 
was not in vain. A Romanist afterwards said, 
"The smoke of Patrick Hamilton infected all 
that it blew upon. ' ' His mouth was closed, but 
the story of his death was repeated by a thousand 
tongues. It emboldened others to seek a martyr's 
crown, and stirred up many more to defend the 
truths for which he died, and to repudiate the 
hierarchy which found it necessary to defend 
itself by such means. "Humanly speaking," 
says the author of "The Champions of the Refor- 



60 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

mation," to whom we are chiefly indebted for 
the facts of our sketch, " could there have been 
found a fitter apostle for ignorant, benighted 
Scotland, than this eloquent, fervent, pious man? 
Endowed with all those gifts that sway the heads 
of the masses, a zealous, pious laborer in season 
and out of season, what herculean labors might 
he not have accomplished ! What signal tri- 
umphs might he not have achieved ! So men 
may reason, but God judged otherwise. A short 
trial, a brief essay in the work he loved and 
longed for, was permitted to him, and then the 
goodly vessel, still in sight of land, was broken 
in pieces. " 




- --.B-ixttre 



rHinjKSDfl lat: 



HUGH LATIMER. 61 



HUGH LATIMER. 

On the 16th of October, 1555, some three years 
before the death of England's " bloody Mary," 
there were to be seen, outside of the gate of Bo- 
cardo jail at Oxford, and opposite Balliol College, 
two piles of fagots, which were soon to be kin- 
dled. In the midst of each a man stood bound. 
One, feeble in health and bearing the weight of 
sixty-five years, but yet undaunted in spirit, was 
heard to encourage his fellow-sufferer with the 
words, i ( Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and 
play the man; we shall this day light such a can- 
dle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall 
never be put out." This noble man was Hugh 
Latimer, " the John Knox of England." 

I^atimer was the son of a farmer in Leicester- 
shire. He was born about 1490, and educated in 
the university of Cambridge, which he entered 
the same year (1505) in which Luther entered the 
convent of Erfurt. In his youth he was, to use 
his own words, an " obstinate papist," and by his 
seal earned the position of cross-bearer in the 
church processions. At his graduation in the di- 
vinity school his oration was directed against Me- 



62 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

lanctlion. The ability he displayed in defence of 
the Romish doctrine attracted the attention of 
Bilney, who had by this time obtained the light 
and life which are revealed in Christ, and which 
h^ found, not by masses, penances, or fastings, but 
by the revelation of God in his Word. ' 4 This is 
a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, 
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sin- 
ners," was the message which the Holy Spirit 
used to bring to his soul a sense of pardon and 
peace; and he longed to tell his experience to this 
zealous, talented student, who had displayed such 
ignorance of this precious truth in his oration 
against Melancthon. Accordingly, he went to 
Latimer and begged him to hear his confession, 
which the young priest agreed to do; and in one 
of his sermons he afterwards declared that by that 
confession he learned more than he had done for 
many years; from that time forward "he began 
to search the Word of God, and forsook the school 
doctors and fooleries." Soon afterwards he de- 
fended the truth from the pulpit as zealously as 
he had formerly opposed it. 

One of his hearers, Thomas Bacon, afterwards 
wrote concerning the commotion thus produced 
in Oxford, " None but the stiff-necked and uncir- 
cumcised in heart went away from his sermons 
without being affected with high detestation of 



HUGH LA TIMER. 63 

sin, and moved to all godliness and virtue. I did 
know certain men which, through the persuasion 
of their friends, went unto his sermons swelling, 
blown full, and puffed up like unto iEsop's frog, 
with envy and malice against him ; but when 
they returned, the sermon being done, and were 
demanded how they liked him and his doctrine, 
they answered, with the bishops and Pharisees' 
servants, ' There was never man that spake like 
unto this man. ' ' ' 

Such preaching could not escape the notice 
of Latimer's superiors, and he was forbidden by 
the bishop of Ely, whom he had displeased by a 
sermon contrasting English prelates with Christ, 
to preach any more in the university churches. 
He was finally brought before Wolsey, who, how- 
ever, gave him a license to preach anywhere. 

Two sermons, preached in 1529, in which Lat- 
imer urged that the people should have the Scrip- 
tures in English, again involved him in difficulty; 
but an investigation resulted merely in binding 
both him and his opponents not to use "offensive 
expressions against each other in the pulpit." 

In 1530, Thomas Cromwell, Wolsey' s agent, 
and his successor in the favor of Henry VIII. , 
recommended Latimer to the king, and he was 
made royal chaplain, and soon after appointed to 
the living of West Kington in Wiltshire. But 



64 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

his zeal in his Master's work did not permit him 
to restrict himself to his own parish; he travelled 
far and near, preaching the truth ; and, as a con- 
sequence, he was summoned in 1533 to appear 
before the bishop of London and other clergy to 
render an account of his doings. He was con- 
demned and afterwards excommunicated, but, by 
favor of the king, was restored, after making some 
slight concessions and confessions, and allowed to 
return to his parish again. 

Soon afterwards the archbishop of Canterbury 
died, and Cranmer was appointed in his place. 
He remembered his former fellow-student at Cam- 
bridge, recalled Latimer to his court chaplaincy, 
so that Henry VIII. heard him preach every Wed- 
nesday during Lent in 1534, and in the fall of 
1535 Latimer was consecrated bishop of Wor- 
cester. 

The following year, at a convocation of the 
clergy, Latimer, by request of Cranmer, opened 
the convocation with two sermons, which are still 
in existence, and are supposed to equal in bold- 
ness anything that John Knox ever proclaimed 
from the pulpit, though the preacher no doubt 
knew that many of his audience would have re- 
joiced to see him bound to the stake. 

In 1539, after several years of faithful episco- 
pal work, Latimer was arrested and forced to re- 



HUGH LA TIMER. 65 

sign his see, because he did not approve of the 
six anti-reformation articles drawn up by Henry 
VIII. He was soon released, but towards the 
close of Henry's reign was again condemned for 
heresy and sent to the Tower of London, where 
he remained until the accession of Edward VI. 
When released, his diocese was offered him again, 
but he declined it, probably on account of failing 
health, which, however, did not prevent him from 
preaching the gospel often before the court, and 
as opportunity offered throughout the kingdom. 

Edward died, however, and was succeeded by 
Mary, a bigoted Catholic; and Latimer, having 
refused to escape, though warning was given him 
of his danger, was soon arrested and sent again to 
the Towner, where he was kept "without fire in 
the frosty winter, ' ' so that he ' ( well nigh starved 
with cold." Yet even these hardships did not 
destroy the natural buoyancy of his spirits, and 
he used to jest with his keeper about the chance 
of cheating his persecutors i c if they did not look 
better to him. ' ' 

In April, 1554, he was transferred to Oxford, 
together with Cranmer and Ridley, where he re- 
mained in prison for more than a year, being oc- 
casionally brought before certain commissioners 
for examination, with a view to securing a recan- 
tation of his principles; but in spite of all threats 



66 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

and persuasions he nobly maintained the truth. 
His appearance at an examination held in Sep- 
tember, 1555, is described by Fox as follows: 

"Suffering and poverty were depicted in his 
appearance as he bowed before the commission- 
ers, holding his hat in his hand, with a kerchief 
bound round his head, and upon it a nightcap or 
two, such as horsemen used in those days, with 
two broad flaps to button under the chin. He 
wore an old threadbare Bristol frieze gown, gir- 
dled to his body with a penny leathern girdle; his 
Testament was suspended from this girdle by a 
leather sling, and his spectacles, without a case, 
hung from his neck upon his breast. ' ' 

Notwithstanding his feebleness, when he was 
urged to admit the doctrine of the papacy, his old 
fire was aroused and he replied with energy, ap- 
pealing to the Scriptures as the coin "which 
should not be clipped, ' ' and which needed ' 4 no 
gelding. ' ' 

The result was that he was condemned to 
die — for Rome had no mercy for the man who 
appealed to the Scriptures against her authority — 
and the scene already described took place. The 
site is now marked by a noble monument. 

Tullock (to whose essay we are chiefly indebt- 
ed for the facts in this sketch), says of him, "Noth- 
ing is more remarkable in him than his cheerful- 



HUGH LA TIMER. 67 

ness. Ill in body, tried and persecuted and cast 
down by many troubles, he is always cheerful ; 
cheerful at Cambridge, amid the scowls of friars; 
cheerful in his parish under episcopal frowns, and 
in his diocese amid an obtuse and opposing cler- 
gy; cheerful in the Tower, when nearly starved 
to death with cold ; cheerful at the stake in the 
thought of the illuminating blaze that he and 
Ridley would make for the glory of the gospel 
and the happiness of England. An earnest, hope- 
ful, and happy man, honest, fearless, open-heart- 
ed, hating nothing but baseness, and fearing none 
but God ; not throwing away his life, yet not count- 
ing it dear; when the great crisis came, calmly 
yielding it up as the crown of his long sacrifice 
and struggle. There may be other reformers that 
more engage our admiration; there is no one that 
more excites our love. ' ' 



68 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



MARTIN LUTHER. 

In the Augustinian convent of Erfurt, be- 
tween the years 1505 and 1508, might be seen, 
three times a day, a young monk, praying with 
intense sincerity to some one of twenty saints 
whom he had chosen as the objects of his devo- 
tion, having divided them into classes, so that 
he might pray to each once a week. He was 
enthusiastic in his devotion to the papal church, 
and fully believed that salvation could be se- 
cured only through strict obedience to its com- 
mands — by the performance of "good works," 
such as prayers, watchings, and fastings. But 
his conscience, even then enlightened by earnest 
study of the Scriptures, too clearly discerned his 
own sinfulness and the perfect holiness required 
by God, to be quieted by all his efforts. The 
peace he so much desired came not to him. 

After a while, however, a fellow-monk whis- 
pered in his ear, " Christ is a real Saviour for 
real sinners ;" and that brought peace to his soul. 
The truth was the seed- wheat of the Reformation 
dropped into Luther's heart, and by-and-by it 
brought forth abundant fruit. It was another 



MARTIN L UTHER. 69 

form of stating the doctrine of justification by 
faith in Christ Jesus, which Luther afterwards 
declared to be " the article of a standing or a 
falling church. l ' 

But how came Luther to be in this convent ? 
And how did he afterwards use the important 
knowledge gained there? These are the ques- 
tions which we purpose answering in our present 
sketch. 

Martin Luther was born at Bisleben, a vil- 
lage of Lower Saxony, November 10, 1483, 
nearly four hundred years ago. His father, Hans 
Luther, was a poor miner in the village of 
Moehra, but subsequently removed to the town 
of Mansfeld, where his circumstances improved, 
and he determined to educate his oldest son 
Martin to be a lawyer. That determination did 
not mean, as with us, that he would provide the 
means necessary, but only that he would not 
demand his time at some money-making work. 

Accordingly, when nearly fourteen years of 
age, Luther was removed from Mansfeld, where 
his teacher had helped to train the future hero 
to the endurance of hardness, by once giving him 
fifteen floggings in a forenoon, and was sent to 
Magdeburg, to a somewhat celebrated school, 
where the boys paid their own way by collecting 
alms from the citizens, under whose windows 



70 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

they were accustomed to sing twice a week. 
From this school he was transferred to one at 
Eisenach, where he supported himself in the 
same manner. It was here that his sad face and 
sweet voice attracted the attention of that noble 
woman, Ursula Cotta, in whose house he found 
a happy home. Here he continued until the 
completion of his eighteenth year, when he 
entered the university at Erfurt, and distin- 
guished himself there by his application and 
attainments. It is said that he began every 
day with prayer to God, and that he declared 
that ' l To pray well is the better half of study. ' ' 

Some two years after he entered the univer- 
sity, he discovered in its library a Latin Bible, 
the first he had ever seen, which he read with 
intense delight. Soon after his graduation as 
Master of Arts, in 1505, his strong desire to pos- 
sess a personal assurance of the favor of God was 
intensified by the sudden death of a dear college 
friend, and by his own apparently narrow escape 
from lightning. Believing that the holiness and 
peace for which he longed could be attained in a 
monastic life, he entered the Augustinian con- 
vent, where, as we have said, he was diligent 
in prayer to the saints, but where he soon found 
" the real Saviour for real sinners. n 

Being recommended by his friend Staupite, 



MARTIN LUTHER. 71 

the vicar-general of the Augustinians in Ger- 
many, to Frederick, elector of Saxony, he was 
appointed by that prince to the chair of meta- 
physics in the new university of Wittenberg. 
He accepted the appointment, and began his 
great work. Here he lectured, preached, and 
wrote many of his books; and though he died 
while absent on a mission at Eisleben, here he 
was buried; and in the market-place of the town 
a bronze statue reminds the citizens of the esteem 
in which he was held by Germany. 

At the request of the Council of Wittenberg, 
Luther soon added the labors of a preacher and 
pastor in one of the churches to the duties of a 
professor in the university, and many flocked to 
hear his sermons. In 15 10 he was sent to Rome 
on business connected with the Augustinian or- 
der. He approached the city with feelings of 
the utmost reverence for it as the residence of 
the visible head of the church; he left it with 
eyes opened to the abuses with which the clergy 
had filled it, and yet without withdrawing his 
allegiance from the pope. 

In 151 2 he began, as Doctor of Biblical The- 
ology, to lecture on the Bible before the students 
in the university, his aim, in lecture or sermon, 
being always to lead his hearers to that faith in 
Christ by which he now lived. 



72 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

At length came the memorable year in which 
he was brought face to face with the evils of the 
indulgence system, and roused to oppose it. Per- 
sons who were accustomed to confess their sins 
to him and to receive spiritual direction from 
him, approached his confessional avowing them- 
selves guilty of terrible sins, but exhibiting let- 
ters of indulgence which they had brought from 
the Dominican monk Teteel, and announcing 
their determination to continue in their trans- 
gressions. Luther, horror-struck at such impiety, 
warned them that no human promise of salvation 
could shield them from divine justice without 
their repentance. Nor was he satisfied with 
these private admonitions. He preached a ser- 
mon in which he exposed the wickedness of 
Teteel's traffic, and the worthlessness of his in- 
dulgences, and advised all to abstain from buy- 
ing them. 

Another and still bolder step he took. 

It was on October 31st, 1517, that Luther 
nailed his ninety-five theses to the door of the 
elector's new r church at Wittenberg, and thereby 
entered his public protest against the sale of 
indulgences, and also against some of the doc- 
trines of the Romish Church, which gave them 
support. We quote the 1st, 6th, and 36th of 
these celebrated theses: 



MA R TIN L UTHER. 73 

"1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ 
says, ' Repent, ' he means that the whole life of 
his faithful servants upon earth shall be a con- 
stant and perpetual repentance. 

M 6. The pope cannot remit any condemna- 
tion, but can only declare and confirm the remis- 
sion of God, except in the cases that appertain 
to himself; if he does otherwise, the condemna- 
tion remains the same. 

"36. Every Christian who truly repents of 
his sins, enjoys an entire remission, both of the 
penalties and of the guilt, without any need of 
indulgences. ' ' 

These theses were printed and circulated all 
over Germany in fourteen days. Everywhere 
they excited attention. Some souls, enlightened 
by the Holy Spirit, rejoiced that one man was 
found with boldness sufficient to oppose the 
iniquitous traffic. Others, among them high dig- 
nitaries of the church, whose support Luther 
had hoped for, believing that Teteel had over- 
leaped his instructions, discouraged discussion of 
the topics of the theses as useless and imprudent, 
or condemned it as rebellion against the church's 
authority. 

Many were the attacks made, in writing, upon 
Luther. Teteel answered his theses with a set 
of theses of his own, which the students of 

Heroes. J Q 



74 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

Wittenberg burned. T^e inquisitor James von 
Hoogstraten begged of the pope that Luther 
might be burned, but Leo X. himself was at 
first inclined to treat the affair as a monkish 
quarrel. Luther, with his veneration for the 
pope still unshaken, wrote a humble letter of 
appeal to him; but before this reached the pon- 
tiff, Leo, convinced that the papacy had in the 
Augustinian monk a more dangerous foe than he 
had at first imagined, ordered him, by a sum- 
mons which reached him August 7th, 1518, to 
appear before the papal court at Rome and 
answer for his conduct. 

By the influence of the elector Frederick, 
Luther was saved from thus walking into the 
jaws of death, and Cardinal Cajetan was, as the 
pope's nuncio, appointed to receive his submis- 
sion at Augsburg. But the wily cardinal found 
that neither persuasions nor threats would move 
" little brother Martin" to submit, unless his 
errors could be pointed out from the Scriptures. 
He accordingly dismissed him, and told his 
friends, '" I don't want to talk more with this 
beast. He has a deep eye, and marvellous spec- 
ulations in his head." 

From fury and violence Luther made his 
escape back to Wittenberg, after having written 
an appeal from u Leo X. ill informed, to Leo X. 



MARTIN LUTHER. 75 

better informed, " which appeal was fastened to 
the door of the cathedral after his departure. 

The death of the emperor of Germany, by 
which Luther's friend Frederick became for the 
time the acting emperor, and other complica- 
tions, secured the safety of Luther until the Diet 
of Worms. Here the new emperor, Charles V. , 
cited him to appear and undergo examination 
as to his teachings; and although many of his 
friends feared the result of his appearance, they 
could not persuade him to absent himself. His 
answer to the remonstrances of one of them was, 
1 c Though there were as many devils in Worms 
as there are tiles on the houses, still I would 
go." 

By degrees new light had entered his mind, 
so that he no longer regarded the pope as the 
vicar of Christ, but rather as Antichrist. Ac- 
cordingly, some time before this, he wrote, l4 .I 
despise the fury of Rome and contemn her favor. 
No more reconciliation ; no more communication 
with her for ever. Let her condemn me; let 
her burn my writings. In my turn I will con- 
demn and publicly burn the pontifical law, that 
nest of every heresy. The moderation I have 
hitherto shown has been unavailing. I now re- 
nounce it" 

These brave words brought him letters of 



y6 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

commendation from many men of influence, and 
emboldened him to publish, in June, 1520, an 
" Appeal to his Imperial Majesty, and the Chris- 
tian Nobility of the German Nation, on the 
Reformation of Christianity. " This is said to 
be u one of the most eloquent and magnificent 
of his writings," and to have aroused to white 
heat the people of Germany against the pope; 
so that his bulls no longer filled them with 
terror, but rather with contempt. The pamphlet, 
among other things, assailed the sacerdotal caste, 
as follows: "It has been said that the pope, the 
bishops, and the priests, and all those who people 
the convents, form the ecclesiastical or spiritual 
state, and that the princes, the nobility, the 
citizens, the peasants, form the secular or lay 
estates. This is a fine story. Let no one, how- 
ever, be grieved. All Christians belong to the 
spiritual state, and there is no other difference 
between them than that which arises from the 
functions which they discharge. We have all 
one baptism, one faith, and it is this which 
constitutes the spiritual man. The unction, the 
tonsure, the cowl, ordination, consecration by a 
bishop or the pope, may make a hypocrite; they 
cannot of themselves make a Christian. ... If we 
possess not the divine consecration, the pope's 
anointing can never make a priest. ' ' 



MARTIN L UTHER. 77 

In the fall of 1520, soon after the publication 
of this appeal, the bull of Leo X., condemning 
the writings of Luther to the flames, and order- 
ing that, unless he should recant within sixty- 
days, his person should be seized and sent to 
Rome, was published in Germany. But instead 
of evoking respect and obedience, the bull ex- 
cited general indignation and ridicule. Luther, 
undismayed by it, wrote "Against the bull of 
Antichrist," appealed from the pope to a gen- 
eral council, and signified his final rupture with 
the papal see by publicly burning the recent bull 
and the pontifical laws, December 10th, 1520. 

But the time of the meeting of the Diet of 
Worms arrived, and there Luther appeared, sin- 
gle-handed, to contend with more than an em- 
pire. The diet was opened by the new emperor, 
Charles, in January, 1521. The 16th of the fol- 
lowing April, Luther arrived in the city, and' 
next day he was cited u to appear before his 
imperial majesty and the states of the empire." 
He appeared, and w^as asked two questions: 
1. "Do you acknowledge yourself the author of 
these writings?" 2. " Will you retract the doc- 
trines therein taught?" To the first he replied, 
after the titles were read, ' ( Yes, they are mine. ' ' 
To the second he answered that unless these 
doctrines were shown to be contrary to the Word 



78 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

of God, he could not retract them. He said, ( ' I 
put no faith in the mere authority of the pontiff 
or of councils, which have often been mistaken, 
and which have frequently contradicted one an- 
other. I recognize no other guide than the Bible — 
the Word of God. Unless convicted of error by 
that, I cannot and will not retract, for we must 
never act contrary to our conscience. ' ' 

This august assembly could neither cajole 
nor frighten the humble monk from adherence 
to the Word of God as the supreme rule for 
man's faith and life. He was permitted to leave 
the city on account of having before his appear- 
ance obtained from the emperor a safe-conduct. 
But 011 May 26 he was placed under the ban of 
the empire. The sentence of the diet ran as fol- 
lows: u The Augustinian monk, Martin Luther, 
notwithstanding our exhortation, has rushed like 
a madman on our holy church, and has attempted 
to destroy it by books overflowing with blas- 
phemy. . . . For this reason, under pain of in- 
curring the penalties of high treason, we forbid 
you to harbor the said Luther after the appointed 
time shall have expired, to conceal him, to give 
him food or drink, or to furnish him by word or 
act, publicly or secretly, with any kind of succor 
whatsoever. We enjoin you, moreover, to seize 
him, or cause him to be seized, wherever you 



MA R TIN L UTHER. 79 

may find him, and bring him before us without 
delay," etc. 

On the publication of this edict, Rome shouted 
for joy. The dignitaries of the church thought 
the end of the controversy had come, and that 
no one would dare befriend the poor monk, in 
opposition not only to the pope's bull but to the 
emperor's edict. They did not consider that God 
has the hearts of all men in his hand, and can 
easily raise up defenders for his faithful servants. 

This was the experience of Luther; for as 
he reached the Thuringian forest, on his return 
from Worms, he was seized by masked horsemen 
and carried a prisoner to the Wartburg, a strong 
fortress situated on a mountain and surrounded 
by forests. The seeming violence of his abduc- 
tion was in reality the loving force of friends, 
who in this w^ay would protect the champion of 
the gospel against papal bull and imperial ban. 
Here Luther, disguised as a knight, and known 
to the attendants of the castle as " Knight 
George," passed many months; and from here, 
though suffering from physical ailments and 
mental conflicts and depression, he soon " inun- 
dated Germany with his writings" — among them 
treatises against indulgences, the confessional, 
and monastic vows. 

Here he also made the first draft of his trans- 



8o HEROES AND HEROINES. 

lation of the New Testament, which he after- 
wards published in 1532, and in little over a year 
several editions of it were called for, such was 
the desire of the people to possess a copy of the 
Word of God in their own tongue. His transla- 
tion of the Old Testament was completed and 
published after some thirteen years' labor, the 
entire Bible being issued in 1534. 

At the end of ten months, such was the condi- 
tion of things at Wittenberg in Luther's absence, 
that at the risk of his life he left his safe retreat 
and returned to his old field of labor. At this, 
and the subsequent period of his life, he endured 
many trials, some of them from the conduct of 
loved friends, such as Carlstadt and Erasmus; 
but he boldly maintained the truth, as he under- 
stood it; and during this period he made much 
progress in the divine life and in the knowledge 
of God's requirements of men. 

On June 13, 1525, he married Catharine von 
Bora, an escaped nun, an event over which his 
enemies rejoiced as a manifest token of his apos- 
tasy from true religion, but which proved, in its 
results, a wise step, and was the source of great 
comfort to Luther during the later period of his 
life. 

The emperor's hands being full, with the 
conduct of his disagreements with Francis I. and 



MARTIN L UTHER. 8 1 

the pope, and the empire being further disquieted 
by the Turks' invasion of Hungary, the Reforma- 
tion was allowed to sweep on in full tide. But 
hostilities having been in some degree suspended, 
it was decreed at the second Diet of Spires, which 
convened March 15, 1529, that the German states 
should obey the edict promulgated at Worms 
against- Luther and his doctrines. Against this 
proceeding the friends of the Reformation united 
in a protest, from w T hich fact they and those who 
held their opinions were ever after called Protes- 
tants. 

In June, 1530, a diet was opened at Augsburg 
to concert measures against the Turks, and to 
settle the religious dissensions of the empire. 
Luther, on account of the sentence of outlawry 
still hanging over him, was not permitted by his 
friends to be present; but by his letters to Me- 
lanchthon and others he doubtless exerted a large 
influence. The Augsburg Confession, prepared 
by Melanchthon and setting forth the religious 
belief of the Lutherans, was presented to the 
diet, but, as a matter of course, not approved by 
that assembly, and the result was the League of 
Schmalkald, formed in March, 1531, by which 
the protesting princes and cities bound them- 
selves together to defend Protestantism by force 
of arms, if needful. 

Heroes. I J 



82 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

For some fifteen years from this period Luther 
continued with little molestation in his arduous 
labors, caring for all the churches, and exhorting 
and warning them by his pamphlets and books. 
Being called by Count Albert of Mansfeld in 
January, 1546, to Eisleben, to act as arbitrator in 
matters of difference between him and Count 
Gebhard, he undertook the journey and succeeded 
in his mission, but was taken sick, and died, 
February 8, 1546, in the same town where, nearly 
sixty- three years before, he had first seen the light 
of a world in which he did so grand a work. 

In a letter to a friend, written a few weeks 
before his death, he expressed some natural weari- 
ness under the burdens of age and the incessant 
labors of his busy life, but concluded joyfully, 
4 'However, Christ is all in all to me; he can and 
does do ail things for me. Praise be to him 
eternally. n In the same spirit, when dying, he 
committed his soul to his Heavenly Father, with 
a hearty and happy trust in Christ his Redeemer, 
whose eternal praise he doubtless still shows 
forth. 

His body was conveyed to Wittenberg, and 
now sleeps ' l at the foot of the pulpit from which 
the thunders of his eloquence had so often shaken 
Christendom.' ' 



PHILIP MELANCHTHON. 83 



PHILIP MELANCHTHON. 

On the 21st of April, 1560, a funeral pro- 
cession passed along the streets of Wittenberg, 
composed of professors, councillors, noblemen, 
students, and citizens, all deeply moved, and 
many in tears. They were bearing to a tomb, 
by the side of the lamented IyUther, his friend 
Melanchthon, the ' c teacher of Germany, " " the 
flower," as a loving pupil said, u out of which 
many bees have sipped and made honey for the 
comfort and instruction of Christendom. 

This remarkable man was born on the 16th 
of February, 1497, in the town of Bretten, in the 
Palatinate, now included in the Grand Duchy of 
Baden. His father was a celebrated armorer, 
patronized by the German emperor Maximilian. 
His mother was noted for her piety; and the 
familiar adage, " Alms do not impoverish," was 
with her an original and favorite motto. Philip 
was the oldest son. He soon manifested a special 
taste for acquiring languages, and showed more 
than ordinary logical ability. 

At ten years of age he was deprived by death 
of his beloved father, who said to Philip, as the 



84 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

boy stood by his bed, two days before he died, 
4 i I have experienced many changes in this world, 
but greater ones are coming. I counsel thee, my 
son, to fear God and live honestly." These 
words were treasured in Philip's memory as long 
as he lived. 

At about this time he was sent to a Latin 
school at Pforzheim, w^here his uncle, John 
Reuchlin, the celebrated scholar, took a great 
interest in him on account of his talents, and 
translated his German name Schwarteerd, which 
means black earth, into the Greek Melanchthon, 
by which he was afterwards known. 

In October, 1509, he entered the university of 
Heidelberg. Here he greatly distinguished him- 
self by his proficiency in the ancient languages, 
so that when a professor was considering a very 
difficult question in the class-room one day, and 
exclaimed, " Where shall I find a Grecian?" the 
students with one voice replied, " Melanchthon." 
After graduating as bachelor of arts at Heidel- 
berg when only fourteen, he attended the univer- 
sity of Tubingen, where, in 15x4, he took the 
degree of master of arts, which gave him the 
privilege of delivering lectures. He won great 
applause as a lecturer, and was recommended to 
Elector Frederick by Reuchlin for a professorship 
in the university at Wittenberg. Melanchthon 



PHILIP MELANCHTHON. 85 

reached his new field of labor in August, 151 8. 
Here he was to meet Luther and be associated 
with him in the great work of his life. The two 
were complements of each other, and both were 
needed for the work now, in the providence of 
God, to be accomplished in Germany. 

A few days after the arrival of the new pro- 
fessor of Greek at Wittenberg, he delivered a 
lecture introductory to his course. Luther was 
among his auditory, and wrote to Spalatin, the 
elector's chaplain, " Philip delivered a very 
learned and chaste address on the fourth day 
after his arrival, and that, too, with such ap- 
plause and admiration on every side that you 
need not trouble yourself farther in commending 
him to us. We must look away from his exterior 
appearance; we rejoice in his gifts at the same 
time that we are amazed at them." Melanch- 
thon was very small and boyish-looking in per- 
son, though a " giant in intellect and learning, " 
as one of his contemporaries said. 

An important part in the history of the Re- 
formation had now been reached. Even at Rome 
the controversy was no longer regarded as a mere 
dispute among the monks, but as one involving 
the very existence of the church. Luther and 
Melanchthon labored side by side, with an honest 
purpose to know and hold to the truth. The 



86 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

university was crowded with students from all 
parts of Germany, and thus the instrumentality 
for diffusing Reformation principles was easily 
found. 

In 1 51 9 Melanchthon took the degree of 
bachelor of divinity, and from that time devoted 
himself mainly to studying and teaching theol- 
ogy; though he never was ordained, and would 
not accept the title of doctor of theology. In 
1521 he published his "Loci Communes,' ' a 
volume on the doctrines of the Bible, which met 
with an almost unprecedented circulation, and 
did much to promote a knowledge of Bible doc- 
trine. It is said to have passed through more 
than fifty editions during the author's life. In 
addition to other literary works, Melanchthon 
gave Luther important help in the translation of 
the Bible. 

In 1520 Melanchthon married the daughter of 
burgomaster Crapp of Wittenberg. As he was 
not a priest, this did not produce the opposition 
which Luther's marriage, some years later, did. 

At the Diet of Spires, Melanchthon took the 
lead in the discussions, Luther being absent. 
Here, on the 20th of April, 1529, the celebrated 
protest and appeal was entered which gave the 
name of Protestants to the opposers of Rome. A 
short time afterwards, Melanchthon aided Luther 



PHILIP MELANCHTHON. 87 

in the conference at Marburg with Zwingli, ap- 
pointed, by landgrave Philip of Hesse, for the 
purpose of effecting an agreement between the 
Lutherans and Zwinglians in regard to the doc- 
trine of the Lord's Supper, which for some years 
had been the subject of a heated controversy. 
Luther contended that Christ's body is really 
present in the bread and wine of the Supper, 
4 ' in, with, and under J ' the elements, maintain- 
ing what is known as the doctrine of c ( consub- 
stantiation, " as opposed to the Romish doctrine 
of ( c transubstantiation, ' ' which affirms the change 
of the bread and wine into the body and blood of 
Christ. Zwingli and his followers held the view 
that the bread and wine are signs of the Sa- 
viour's body and blood, and that the latter are 
to be partaken of by the soul alone, through faith. 
Each of the two parties based its view upon a 
different understanding of the word u is" in our 
Lord's declaration at the institution of the Sup- 
per: "This is my body ... my blood," Luther 
taking it as literal; the Swiss party apprehending 
it as equivalent to signifies. 

The conference at Marburg did not bring the 
parties to an agreement on the contested point. 
Neither would yield, for each firmly believed 
that its doctrine was taught in the Scriptures. 

The imperial diet assembled at Augsburg in 



88 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

May, 1530, and, after the arrival of the emperor 
later, was formally opened Jnne 20th, with a 
statement of the subjects to be discussed — resis- 
tance to the Turks, and the religious disagree- 
ments. The Reformers were required to present 
their confession of faith before the assembly. 
This, the first Protestant confession, which is 
still the standard of belief in the Lutheran 
church, was drawn up chiefly by Melanchthon, 
who labored over it with prayers and tears. It 
had the approval of Luther, then at Coburg, and 
was signed by the Protestant princes and the 
representatives of most of the Protestant imperial 
cities. It was on the occasion of the signature of 
this document that the elector John of Saxony 
won his title of u the Steadfast, n for avowing his 
determination to confess Christ at the hazard of 
any earthly loss, which, he said, could be but 
temporal, while his dependence upon his Saviour 
and Master was for eternity. 

The confession was read in the imperial 
chapel of the bishop's palace, June 25th, and 
won the admiration of many of the multitude 
of listeners. It was then submitted to a com- 
mittee of Romish theologians, for their refutation 
of it. 

In the meantime, while the refutation was 
being prepared, means were taken to draw con- 



PHILIP MELANCHTHON. 89 

cessions from Melanchthon, who, for the love of 
peace, was at times disposed to concede more 
than he ought, though never enough to satisfy 
the desires of Rome. He became much dejected, 
and suffered in health; but L,uther wrote to him 
encouraging words, enjoined firmness, and asked 
him, 4 4 What more can the devil do than to kill 
us? Why, then, be troubled ?" 

The refutation was read before the diet, Au- 
gust 3d, and the Protestants were required to own 
themselves convinced by it, and to abandon their 
errors. It was a violent but very weak defence 
of Romish doctrine, and Melanchthon ably re- 
futed it in his re^ly, entitled ( ' The Apology of 
the Augsburg Confession." 

Repeated conferences and mutual concessions 
failed to effect any agreement between the Papists 
and the Protestants in regard to the disputed 
points,, and the issue of the diet was a recess or 
decree forbidding the Protestants to make any 
efforts whatever to extend their faith, but grant- 
ing them until the 15th of the following April to 
decide whether they would return to the Romish 
Church. 

Early in the following year, 1531, the Protes- 
tant princes and cities entered into the League of 
Schmalkalden, for the purpose of defending the 
evangelical truth and its confessors by the sword, 

Heroes. J 2 



90 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

if necessary, against any violence on the part of 
their Romish opponents. In 1532, however, an 
agreement was arrived at, at the Diet of Nurem- 
berg, proclaiming a peace between the two par- 
ties, and suspending all hostilities on either side, 
pending the meeting of a general council, or the 
issue of another imperial recess. 

For several years the Reformation progressed, 
interrupted in some measure by the fanatical 
excesses of the Anabaptists, and answering per- 
secutions on the part of the Romanists. Mean- 
time, efforts were again made to secure an agree- 
ment between the Lutherans and the Zwinglians 
in regard to the Lord's Supper; and although 
neither party yielded its peculiar views, a friend- 
ly understanding was at length, 1536, established 
for a time, chiefly through the mediation of Bucer 
of Strasburg. 

In 1537 Luther, at the elector John Freder- 
ick's request, drew up a confession to be laid 
before a general council convoked to meet at 
Mantua. This confession, entitled ''Articles of 
Schmalkalden," from the place of its signature, 
during a Protestant conference held there, was 
bold in its denunciation of the pope, a circum- 
stance which Melanchthon so much regretted as 
to append an additional article stating his own 
willingness to submit to the pope's supremacy, 



PHILIP MELANCHTHON. pr 

as a human institution, if the pope would not 
oppose the progress of the gospel. 

The emperor was still exceedingly desirous of 
the establishment of harmony within his domin- 
ions, especially on account of the danger con- 
stantly threatening from the Turks, whom a 
divided empire could not quell. Thus the fol- 
lowers of the false prophet, in disposing Charles 
to conciliatory measures towards his Protestant 
subjects, were, in the admirable providence of 
God, repeatedly made subservient to the estab- 
lishment of the pure faith of the gospel in Ger- 
many. Melanchthon was present, among other 
Protestant leaders, and popish representatives, at 
a meeting in the interests of peace held at Frank- 
fort-on-the-Main, February, 1539, whose result 
was a fifteen months' truce. Similar assemblies 
were held at Hagenau, Worms, and Ratisbon, in 
1540 and 1 541. While Melanchthon was on his 
way to the first, he fell ill at Weimar, and Lu- 
ther, who was sent for, found him apparently at 
the point of death. Distressed at the prospect of 
losing so valuable an ally in the defence of the 
gospel, Luther poured forth a most earnest prayer 
for his friend's recovery; and both he and Me- 
lanchthon believed that it was in answer to this 
prayer that the life of the latter was spared. At 
Ratisbon, Melanchthon was one of the three Prot- 



52 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

estant theologians selected by the emperor to con- 
fer with an equal number of Catholics, the result 
cf whose joint deliberations was their partial 
adoption of the Ratisbon Interim, which ex- 
pressed an agreement between the two bodies of 
theologians on certain points, but was satisfac- 
tory to neither Papists nor Protestants. Poor 
Melanchthon was blamed by the emperor for not 
having conceded enough, and censured by many 
of his friends for having yielded too much. He 
reproached himself afterwards for having made 
any concessions. In default of any better arrange- 
ment, the emperor renewed the peace of Nurem- 
berg. 

In 1545, Melanchthon, at his elector's request, 
drew up a new statement of the principles of the 
Reformers, for presentation at the diet held at 
Worms in that year. Early in the following year, 
he was called upon to assist at Luther's funeral. 

After the war between the Protestant allies 
and the emperor had issued in the destruction of 
the Schmalkaldic League, and in the placing of 
Duke Maurice of Saxony in the electoral chair of 
his cousin John Frederick, against whom Mau- 
rice, though a Protestant, had, for political rea- 
sons, sided with the emperor, Charles still cher- 
ished the hope that further conferences might 
bring about a religious agreement. At the Diet 



PHILIP MELANCHTHON. 93 

of Augsburg held in July, 1547, two Catholic 
bishops, and the Protestant chaplain of the elec- 
tor of Brandenburg, drew up an ecclesiastical 
constitution in which most important concessions 
were made to the Papists, in regard to justifica- 
tion by faith, the papacy, the intercession of 
saints, and the mass. This constitution was 
legalized by the emperor in the following year, 
and was what is known as the Second, or Augs- 
burg Interim. It proved satisfactory to neither 
party, and was heartily opposed by the Protes- 
tants, many of their clergy preferring persecution 
and exile to compliance with its requisitions. 
Melanchthon was unusually bold in his opposi- 
tion to it. 

But Melanchthon gave great offence to many 
of the more uncompromising leaders — Calvin 
among others — by the part which he bore soon 
after, 1548, in the preparation, at the elector 
Maurice's request, of a third Interim, drawn up 
at a convention of Maurice's theologians at Leip- 
sic. In this instrument, also, concessions were 
made to the Romanists, more particularly in lit- 
urgical observances, called adiaphora, or indiffer- 
ent things. In the adiaphoristic controversy 
which followed, Melanchthon had to endure the 
harshest attacks, even from former pupils; while, 
at the same time, any manifestation on his part 



94 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

of reluctance to come to an agreement with the 
Romish Church exposed him to the charge of 
seditiousness. Yet, unwilling to leave Germany 
at so critical a time, Melanchthon refused to 
escape from his trying and painful position, 
though a call to England presented him with a 
favorable opportunity. Admirable, also, were the 
Christian gentleness and meekness with which 
he bore, and responded to, unmerciful attacks. 

In March, 1552, the elector Maurice took up 
arms against the emperor in behalf of the Prot- 
estant cause. Iu his victorious march southward 
to Innsbruck, where Charles then was, he every- 
where declared the Protestants released from obe- 
dience to the Augsburg interim, and reinstated 
Protestant magistrates and preachers. The em- 
peror, obliged to flee by night from Innsbruck, 
and finding himself attacked at the same time by 
Maurice's ally, Henry II. of France, and also 
by the ever-troublesome Turks, empowered his 
brother Ferdinand to establish terms of peace 
with Maurice. The treaty of Passau, concluded 
at this time, August, 1552, guaranteed religious 
liberty to the Protestants; and although the impe- 
rial sanction of its provisions was deferred for a 
time, by dissensions among the Protestant lead- 
ers, the Diet of Augsburg, opened February 5, 
1555, finally secured a permanent religious peace 



PHILIP MELANCHTHON. 95 

which gave to the Lutherans equal religious and 
political rights with the Catholics. 

The disputes among the theologians still went 
on, Melanchthon continuing to take a leading 
part. 

The synergistic controversy, and that with 
Osiander, concerning justification and sanctifica- 
tion, occupied most of his time; but he was ever 
ready to do what he could to forward the cause 
of union, not only among the Protestants, but 
also with the Romanists. For this purpose he 
attended a conference at Worms in 1557, but 
without any good results. The great doctrine of 
toleration was not yet fully accepted, and the 
whole church was in error respecting the author- 
ity of the civil magistrate in religious matters. 
In addition to Melanchthon' s public trials and 
anxieties, he had also various domestic afflic- 
tions. One son died in childhood, and another 
gave his father much concern by his levity. His 
daughter Anna was unhappily married, and died 
before Melanchthon. The loss of his wife oc- 
curred in 1557, and his own health began seri- 
ously to decline in 1558. The end of his labors 
and disputations was now near; and Melanch- 
thon, worn by the incessant toils and conflicts of 
the stormy age in which he lived, thought joy- 
fully of his approaching deliverance from sin and 



96 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

the rancor of theological dispute, and his admis- 
sion to the visible presence of his God and Sa- 
viour, and to a more extended knowledge of the 
mysteries of redemption. 

In March, 1560, he departed for Leipsic on 
business of the elector, and returned from this 
journey stricken with his last sickness. On the 
19th of April he was released from his labors, 
and taken home to his heavenly rest. As he 
neared the end of his pilgrimage, his son-in-law, 
Dr. Peucer asked him if he wished for anything, 
to which he replied, " Nothing but heaven.' ' 

Thus died one of the ablest and noblest men 
of the Reformation. Too timid to be just such 
a leader as Luther, at the same time he possessed 
the qualifications which were necessary to make 
Luther's more efficient. Luther could not have 
performed Melanchthon' s scholarly work, any 
more than Melanchthon could have accomplished 
Luther's pioneer work. Melanchthon was the 
systemizer of the faith of the church of the Ref- 
ormation in Germany; and his spirit of modera- 
tion has, with beneficial effects, been transmitted 
to the present day. 

He was buried, as we have already described, 
in his beloved Wittenberg, and in 1869 a monu- 
ment was completed to his memory. 




miLWZL(QW i" 7 :::i:i 



ULRIC ZWINGLL g 7 



ULRIC ZWINGLL 

On October 12th, 1531, nearly sixteen years 
before the death of Luther, and the same year in 
which the League of Schmalkalden was formed, 
there lay, fearfully wounded, on the battlefield 
of Cappel, one of Switzerland's greatest men, 
one of her greatest reformers, preachers, and 
statesmen. As the blood trickled from his 
wounds, he exclaimed, "What matters this mis- 
fortune? they may, indeed, kill the body, but 
they cannot kill the soul. ' ' Let us note a few 
of the incidents in this man's life, and the cause 
of his being on this battlefield. 

Seven weeks after the birth of Luther, Ulric 
Zwingli was born, January 1, 1484, in a little 
cottage in the mountain village of Wildhaus, 
some twenty miles east of the lake of Zurich. 
His father was a shepherd, and also bailiff of 
Wildhaus, the Zwinglis being highly esteemed 
in all the country round. Ulric was the third of 
eight sons, who, with one daughter, comprised 
the family of the bailiff. The love of country 
was early aroused in the boy's heart by the 
stories of Swiss patriotism related in his hearing 

Heroes. J "7 



98 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

by his father and others; and a religious feeling 
was, at the same time, excited by stories from 
the Bible, and the legends of the church, told 
him by his mother and grandmother. 

His father's brother Bartholomew was dean 
of Wesen, and to him Ulric w^as early entrusted, 
in the hope that he might be fitted for something 
higher than a shepherd's life on his native moun- 
tains. The dean soon became very fond of the 
boy, and interested himself heartily in his educa- 
tion. When Ulric was only ten years old, he 
showed signs of such mental superiority that he 
was sent to Basel; and on learning all that he 
could acquire at the elementary school there, he 
was removed to Berne, where he enjoyed the in- 
structions of Wolflin, or Lupulus, a distinguished 
scholar and poet of the day. There Ulric made 
such progress in classical learning that the Do- 
minican monks, attracted by his talents and his 
fine voice, desired him to enter their order. To 
prevent this, his father and uncle transferred him 
to Vienna, where he began the study of scholas- 
tic philosophy. After leaving Vienna and spend- 
ing a short time at home, Ulric in 1502 returned 
to Basel, to teach school, and at the same time 
pursue his own studies in philosophy and theol- 
ogy at the university, where he was graduated as 
Master of Arts. There he came under the infiu- 



ULRIC ZWINGLL 99 

ence of the learned and pious theologian Thomas 
Wyttenbach, who made the Scriptures the chief 
source of his instructions, and taught that u the 
death of Christ is the only ransom of our souls. ' ' 

In 1506, Zwingli, then twenty-two, was invi- 
ted to become pastor of Glarus. He was accord- 
ingly ordained, and removed to his large parish, 
after reading his first mass at Wildhaus. 

The state of religion at the time when he 
began the work of his pastorate may easily be 
learned from the fact, that in a synod which 
assembled early in the sixteenth century, only 
three of its members had read the Bible; the 
others confessed that they had hardly any knowl- 
edge of the New Testament. They contented 
themselves with repeating sermons which were 
prepared by the monks, and which were often 
wholly unsuited to the circumstances of the con- 
gregation. But Zwingli was a man of a different 
type. He had a desire for information, and 
sought even among the writings of Wickliffe and 
Huss to obtain it, though then without any pur- 
pose of accepting their doctrines. During his ten 
years' pastorate at Glarus, he did not attack the 
errors of Rome, but strove to reform the morals 
and politics of his people. Besides discharging 
his ordinary pastoral duties with unusual fidelity 
and purity of life, Zwingli gave much time to 



ioo HEROES AND HEROINES. 

study of the classics and the Scriptures. Being 
very poor, he would have found it difficult to 
procure books, had it not been for a pension of 
fifty florins bestowed upon him by the pope, be- 
cause of the favorable representations of Cardinal 
Schinner, bishop of Sitten and papal legate, who 
was struck with Zwingli's talent and influence, 
and desired his attachment to the papal interests. 

Twice, in 1512 and 1515, Zwingli, at the 
order of his government, accompanied the troops 
of Glarus to Italy, whither they were summoned 
to take part in the engagements between the 
pope and his allies, and the French. For up- 
wards of sixty years the Swiss had been in the 
habit of selling their military services to foreign 
powers. Zwingli, who saw the evil effects of 
this mercenary service upon the character of his 
countrymen, in promoting avarice, luxury, and 
immorality, denounced the practice in the strong- 
est terms, in his sermons and in published wri- 
tings. 

In a letter to the canton of Schweite, he says: 
i i Think how many of your fellow-citizens have 
perished in the wars of Naples, in the battles of 
Navarre and Milan. What rivers of blood have 
you not shed ! What would you say if you were 
to see the mercenary soldier, hired with gold — 
whom you had never injured — appearing at your 



ULRIC ZWINGLL lot 

gates, felling your woods, destroying your vines, 
carrying off your flocks, massacring your chil- 
dren, unaffected by the tears of your wives and 
your fathers, butchering them before your own 
eyes, and setting fire to your dwellings? Yet this 
is what you yourselves do, allured by the charm 
of riches and property unjustly acquired." 

During Zwingli's later years at Glarus, the 
study of the New Testament in the original Greek 
engaged much of his attention. He committed 
large portions of it to memory, earnestly praying 
that the Holy Spirit would cause him to under- 
stand it — a prayer which was abundantly an- 
swered; and he laid its truths, as he discovered 
them, before his people. 

In 1 514 he made the acquaintance of Eras- 
mus, then on a visit to Basel, to which city 
Zwingli journeyed for the sake of seeing and 
speaking with a man whose writings he had long 
admired. In this visit to Basel he was thrown 
into the society of other men of genius and learn- 
ing assembled around Erasmus. 

Zwingli was called to Einsiedeln, in Schweite, 
in 1516; and, notwithstanding the protests of the 
people of Glarus, he accepted the appointment as 
affording him a larger field of usefulness. He 
was, also, partly influenced by the ascendancy 
gained in Glarus by the French party won by the 



102 HEROES AND HEROINES. - 

persuasions and bribes of Francis L, who now 
desired Swiss aid against the emperor and the 
pope. 

Einsiedeln was the seat of a monastery dedi- 
cated to the Virgin, to which large crowds of 
pilgrims flocked, attracted by the fame of an im- 
age reputed to work miracles, by the offer of 
' i complete remission of sins, n in an inscription 
over the gate of the abbey, and by the yearly 
commemoration of the alleged consecration of the 
abbey-church by Christ and angels. The retire- 
ment of a residence in the abbey gave Zwingli 
more leisure to pursue his study of the Word of 
God, love for which was continually increasing 
in his heart, while he endeavored more and more 
to conform his life to its precepts. Here he 
gained a nearer view of the superstitions and cor- 
ruptions of the Romish church. And here, with 
the numerous and ever-changing throngs of mis- 
led pilgrims as his auditors, he faithfully and im- 
pressively preached salvation by Christ alone. 
When accused, years later, of being a Lutheran, 
he declared that he had " learned the doctrine of 
Christ from God's Word," and preached it, be- 
fore Luther's name was heard in Switzerland. 

Zwingli formed several valued and helpful 
friendships at Binsiedeln, and it was doubtless 
owing to his influence that the administrator of 



ULRIC ZW1NGLI. 103 

the abbey caused the inscription over its gate to 
be removed. To Schinner and the other papal 
legates who visited Einsiedeln, and who sought 
by promises and favors to secure Zwingli's politi- 
cal influence to the pope, he boldly expressed his 
sense of the corruptions of the church, and his in- 
tention to proclaim the truth as he found it in the 
Scriptures. In the summer of 151 8 he denounced 
the indulgence-seller Samson, then pursuing his 
trade in the Swiss cantons, and prevented him 
from reaping much profit in Schweite. 

Zwingli's reputation as a preacher was now 
very great, and, owing partly to the exertions of 
his friend Oswald Myconius, he was invited to 
fill the important charge of preacher and pastor 
in the cathedral of Zurich. He preached his first 
sermon there on Saturday, January 1, 1519. 

"An immense audience was assembled, and 
he commenced by showing that Christ is the sole 
author of salvation, and the only hope and conso- 
lation of sinners. He then proceeded to inveigh 
against vice in general, and particularly hypoc- 
risy, recommended works of piety, and thundered 
against luxury, idleness, and intemperance. ' ' 

On the following day he began a course of 
sermons on the Gospel of Matthew, declaring that 
the life of Jesus had been too long neglected; and 
on week-days he lectured on the Old Testament. 



104 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

Multitudes of every class thronged to hear him, 
and many were led by him to the one true source 
of salvation. He was equally faithful in his pas- 
toral visitations, and also continued to pursue his 
studies diligently, devoting a good portion of his 
time to Hebrew, that he might better understand 
the mind of the Spirit as revealed in the Old Tes- 
tament. When Samson approached the city of 
Zurich, Zwingli influenced the council and the 
townspeople against his indulgences, and the sale 
of his wares in the canton was forbidden. 

In the summer of 1519 Zwingli's health be- 
came impaired by his exertions, and he w r ent to 
the baths of Pfeffers. But, hearing while there 
that the plague had broken out in Zurich, he im- 
mediately returned to his post, and, while labor- 
ing among his stricken parishioners, was himself 
smitten down by the dread disease. On his un- 
expected recovery great was the joy of his family 
and his friends, among whom a report of his 
death had spread. Upon himself his illness had 
the effect of increasing his devotion to his Sa- 
viour, and his ability to minister for him at 
whose feet he had thrown himself in more simple 
faith, and in utter hopelessness of all other help, 
during the dark time of bodily pain, and of spir- 
itual depression in view of sin and the apparent 
closeness of eternity. Unmoved by the flattery 



ULRIC ZWINGLI. 105 

and offered bribes of papal nuncios, he henceforth 
more fervently preached the infinite value of 
Christ's obedience and death as the sinner's Sub- 
stitute, and the power of his love to win the soul 
to a life of loving obedience to him. "Only love 
to the Redeemer," he declared, " could impel 
man to the performance of actions acceptable to 
God;" and he urged his hearers to see to it that 
Christ was in them, and that they were in Christ. 
Not only the people of Zurich, who crowded to 
the cathedral, heard these words, but many stran- 
gers from all parts of the confederacy were among 
Zwingli's auditors from time to time; and thus 
the truth spread through Switzerland, as it was 
spreading through Germany. 

At about this time the canons of the cathe- 
dral, uneasy at Zwingli's course because it tended 
to diminish their influence and their revenues, 
began seriously to oppose him. Their opposition 
did not, however, prevent the Council of Zurich 
in 1520 from ordering all preachers to found their 
sermons on the Word of God alone. But this 
civil mandate drew forth the condemnation of the 
bishop of Constance, in whose diocese Zurich was, 
and greatly offended many monks who w r ere igno- 
rant of the Bible. 

Some of Zwingli's adherents having ceased to 
observe the appointed fasts, and also tried to force 

Heroes. I A 



106 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

others to follow them, the council requested Zwin- 
gli to instruct the people on this point in his ser- 
mons. Besides doing this, £wingli published a 
tract on the subject, in which, with apostolic 
moderation, he urged that true Christian liberty 
did not consist in claiming the right to eat meat; 
and when cited to appear before the council and 
a deputation from the bishop, he proposed that 
fasting should be continued for the present In 
the spring of 152a Zwingli and his clerical asso- 
ciates in the furtherance of the gospel introduced 
some important changes in the church services, 
substituting a German liturgy in the place of the 
Latin one, and dropping some useless and super- 
stitious ceremonies in baptism. Soon after the 
bishop of Constance wrote to the council and 
clergy of Zurich concerning the innovations of 
Zwingli as follows: 

' ' Do not, ' ' said he, c ( allow them to be preached 
among you, nor discussed publicly or privately; 
preserve yourselves in the doctrines and usages of 
the church, till those to whom it belongs shall 
regulate these matters. ' ' 

In reply, £wingli and several of his friends 
addressed letters to the bishop and to the whole 
confederation, petitioning that the gospel might 
be freely preached in the cantons, and that un- 
scriptural regulations might be abolished. 



ULRIC ZWINGLL 107 

In the meantime the Council of Worms, 1521, 
had proscribed Luther. Now Zwingli was charged 
with being a Lutheran, and a violent controversy 
arose between the opposed parties. 

Plots were laid against Zwingli's life, and the 
council deemed it necessary to guard his house. 
To settle the dispute, if possible, Zwingli solicit- 
ed a conference, and the state authorities provided 
for one, January 29, 1523. Zwingli propounded 
sixty-seven propositions which he wished dis- 
cussed, and took the precaution to circulate them 
among the people before the conference assem- 
bled. Among other things, he affirmed that ' ' the 
gospel is the only rule of faith; that Christ is the 
only Head of the church; that traditions are to be 
rejected; that the mass is not a sacrifice; that the 
priests have a right to marry, ' ' etc. 

The conference met, but the representatives 
of Rome, true to their history, refused, for some 
time, to discuss; and little was accomplished, ex- 
cept that the council resolved "that Zwingji, 
having neither been convicted of heresy, nor re- 
futed from the Scriptures, should continue to 
preach the gospel as he had done hitherto; that 
the pastors of Zurich and its territory should rest 
their discourses on the words of Scripture alone, 
and that both parties should refrain from all per- 
sonal reflections. ' ' 



lo8 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

Zwingli desired the abolition of the mass and 
of images. Some iconoclastic proceedings on the 
part of a few violent persons in Zurich made ur- 
gent the need for a decision in regard to images; 
and, accordingly, a second conference was held 
on two successive days of October, 1523, in the 
presence of nine hundred persons; including the 
council, three hundred and fifty priests from dif- 
ferent parts of the canton of Zurich, and repre- 
sentatives from Schaffhausen and St. Gall. The 
other cantons, as well as the bishops of Constance, 
Chur, and Basel, declined Zurich's invitation to 
send deputies. The result was a complete victory 
for the Reformers, the adoration of images and 
the Romish mass being proved to be contrary to 
the Scriptures. In the following year the coun- 
cil ordered the daily preaching of the Word of 
God, and the abolition of images and of all un- 
scriptural practices in the celebration of the mass, 
measures which were orderly carried out, in spite 
of another protest from the bishop of Constance. 
Pilgrimages were abolished about the same time. 
A further change, effected in April, 1525, was the 
administration of the Lord's supper to the people 
in a perfectly simple form, disencumbered of all 
the ceremonies of the mass. 

In April, 1524, Zwingli, like Luther a year 
later, began a happy home-life for himself by his 



ULRIC ZWINGLL 109 

marriage with Anna Reinhart, the widow of a 
distinguished magistrate. 

One measure of importance in which Zwingli 
was at this period actively interested, was the es- 
tablishment of an academic and theological school 
on the foundation of the cathedral-chapter, the 
majority of the canons having been converted to 
Zwingli' s views and become inspired with the 
desire for a life of greater activity and usefulness. 
Zwingli, beside his other labors, discharged the 
duties of professor of theology. 

In Berne, where the gospel had at first been 
preached amid many discouragements by Berthold 
Haller, the friends of the Reformation had become 
numerous, and a discussion was appointed to take 
place between them and the adherents of Rome in 
the beginning of 1528. Zwingli was one of the 
three hundred and fifty clergymen who attended 
the conference, which resulted in the triumph of 
the evangelical party, and, later, in the establish- 
ment, by the council, of regulations in regard to 
doctrine and worship like those which prevailed 
at Zurich. A further result was the conclusion, 
in June, 1528, of an offensive and defensive alli- 
ance between Zurich and Berne. Constance was 
already allied with Zurich, and the confederation 
was afterwards joined by St. Gall, Basel, Biel, 
and Miilhausen. Opposed to this evangelical al- 



1 1 o HEROES AND HEROINES. 

liance was a Romanist league, comprising the 
five cantons of Uri, Schweite, Unterwalden, Zug, 
and Lucerne. 

The persecutions and martyrdom inflicted by 
£he Romish cantons upon a number of confessors 
of the Reformed faith enraged the Protestant 
cantons and cities, and caused a portion of the 
evangelical believers to look to the sword as the 
proper means of settling the conflict of opinions. 
Prominent among the advocates of war was 
Zwingli. He armed himself and accompanied 
the troops of Zurich to the field in the summer of 
1529, when the cutting off of supplies on both 
sides had been followed by the muster of armies 
and preparations for an encounter. War was 
avoided for a time by the exertions of a peace- 
party, who concluded a treaty of peace at Stein- 
hausen, in Zug, July 26, 1529. 

Soon after, Zwingli repaired to the conference 
at Marburg. He had become involved in the 
sacramental controversy with Luther in 1527, and 
conducted his part of it with great moderation 
and forbearance. At the conclusion of the con- 
ference, articles setting forth the points on which 
the two parties agreed were signed. 

But troubles awaited Zwingli on his return 
from Marburg. The peace which had been 
agreed upon at Steinhausen was disregarded by 



ULR1C Z WING LI. 1 1 1 

the Romish cantons, and the professors of the Re- 
formed religion in those cantons were again per- 
secuted. Even in Zurich enemies of the gospel 
gained some ground, and Zwingli, in discourage- 
ment, offered his resignation, which, however, 
was declined. 

In July, 1530, Zwingli transmitted a confes- 
sion of faith to the emperor, then at the Diet of 
Augsburg, before which the Lutheran confession 
was laid. In almost all important points the two 
confessions were in harmony. 

The disagreements between the Reformed and 
the Romish cantons advanced speedily to an open 
rupture, both parties transgressing the terms of 
peace. While Zwingli still counselled war, and 
was confident of the ultimate triumph of the pure 
faith, sad forebodings of the trials awaiting the 
church in the near future filled his mind, and, in 
accordance with the superstitious view of the age, 
he regarded the great comet of 1531 as a portent of 
such troubles. 

When the Protestant cantons hindered the 
passage of supplies for the Romish cantons, the 
latter determined upon immediate warfare. On 
October 9, 1531, the five popish cantons took the 
field, moving an army of eight thousand men to- 
wards the city of Zurich. The people of Zurich, 
taken by surprise, sent out an advance-guard, 



1 1 2 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

consisting of but nineteen hundred men, who met 
the enemy's forces at Cappel. Zwingli, who ap- 
peared to have a presentiment that he would never 
return to his home, accompanied the Zurichers 
into the very thickest of the battle; and while he 
was administering the consolations of religion to 
a dying soldier he was himself struck down by 
one of the stones used in the fight according to 
ancient Swiss custom. He rose, but was thrice 
more felled to the ground, the last time by a lance- 
thrust, when he uttered the words recorded in the 
beginning of our sketch. Catholic soldiers found 
him later, and, not recognizing him in the dark- 
ness, urged him to pray to the Virgin and the 
saints. Infuriated by his silent refusal, they 
turned his face towards the light of a fire. One 
of their captains happened to pass as they uttered 
their suspicion that it was Zwingli on whom they 
were gazing, and he gave the reformer his death- 
stroke. For Zwingli, mistaken as he doubtless 
was in advocating and grasping the sword as a 
defence of the gospel, the blow which despatched 
him was really a " stroke of mercy," sending him 
to the presence of that divine Saviour upon whom 
he had long personally relied, and whom he had 
faithfully set forth as the only way of salvation. 

The most violent of his enemies were not sat- 
isfied with his death. His body was condemned 



ULRIC ZWINGLL 1 1 3 

on the next day as that of a traitor and heretic; it 
was accordingly quartered and burned, the ashes 
were mingled with the ashes of swine, and scat- 
tered to the winds. 

Six hundred brave Zurichers fell with Zwin- 
gli, and great was the lamentation in the city of 
the slain, and elsewhere, for the grief and loss 
that had come upon the cause of the Reformed. 
One of the greatest sufferers was Zwingli's widow, 
who at Cappel lost husband, son, son-in-law, 
brother, and brother-in-law. 

But though Zwingli was dead, his work re- 
mained. It needed to be purified with fire, and 
it was; but by-and-by it shone forth in beauty and 
strength. Being thus early taken away from his 
work before it was fully established, he acquired 
less celebrity than either Luther, Calvin, or Knox; 
but he was not a whit behind them in his love for 
the truth and in his ability to distinguish it from 
error. He had remarkably clear views of Scrip- 
ture truth, and courage to maintain them. To 
remotest times he will be remembered as one of 
the greatest men of Switzerland, and one of the 
clearest-headed of the reformers of the sixteenth 
century. 



15 



H4 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



JOHN CALVIN. 

In the cemetery of Plain-Palais, outside the 
city of Geneva, on the banks of the Rhone, a 
plain stone may be seen with the letters J. C. 
chiselled upon it. Guides point it out as mark- 
ing the last resting-place of the famous theologian 
and reformer, John Calvin. But it is a matter of 
little moment that the place of his sepulchre is 
scarcely known, and that no costly monument 
marks his grave. The influences which he set 
in motion for civil and religious liberty, for right, 
truth, and humanity, for the glory of God and the 
good of men, are still pervading the world, and 
form a nobler monument than any that the hands 
of his friends could have erected. It is emphati- 
cally true of him that, " though dead, he yet 
speaks. ' ' 

Calvin was born at Noyon, in Picardy, France, 
July 10, 1509, nearly one hundred years later than 
John Huss, and almost thirty years later than Lu- 
ther. His father, Gerard Calvin, was a very in- 
telligent man, and discharged several important 
civil and ecclesiastical offices for the county and 
diocese of Noyon. At his own expense he had 
John, his second son, educated in the household 



JOHN CALVIN. 115 

of the De Montmors, a noble family of the neigh- 
borhood. When the boy was twelve years old, 
his father, who perceived his talents and wished 
to fit him for the priesthood, induced the bishop 
of Noyon to appoint him chaplain of the little 
chapel of Notre Dame de la Gesine; and John ac- 
cordingly received the tonsure, and was installed 
May 29, 1 52 1. About two years afterwards the 
plague broke out at Noyon, and John, aided by 
the salary of his chaplaincy, accompanied the 
young De Montmors to Paris. There he studied 
the I^atin classics in the College de la Marche, 
and applied himself to dialectics and scholastic 
philosophy in the College Montaign, outstripping 
his fellow-students at both institutions, and gain- 
ing by his own strict morality and his frank dis- 
approbation of wrong-doing on the part of others 
the nickname of ' 4 the Accusative. ' ' 

Though it does not appear that he was at any 
time formally ordained, in his nineteenth year he 
was advanced to another benefice, which he ex- 
changed nearly two years later, July, 1529, for 
the curacy of Pont l'Eveque, a village near No- 
yon, where he preached. At about this time his 
father, perceiving that the calling which he had 
chosen for his son was not a very lucrative one, 
endeavored to turn his attention to the study of 
law. The proposed change was not unacceptable 



1 1 6 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

to the young man, as he had already begun to 
doubt some of the doctrines of the church, influ- 
enced by the study of the Bible, to which he had 
been led by his relative Pierre Robert Olivetan, 
reviser of Lefevre's French translation of the 
Scriptures. 

At Orleans, where Calvin began his legal 
studies under the celebrated Professor Pierre de 
TEtoile, he w T as, as he tells us, " suddenly con- 
verted, ' ' and filled with an earnest desire to learn 
and do the will of God. He applied himself to 
the study of law with an assiduity and success 
which enabled him to fill the place of the profes- 
sor when the latter was absent, and procured him, 
on his departure from the college, the title of doc- 
tor without payment of the customary fees. The- 
ology also engaged Calvin's attention at Orleans, 
and had for him a greater attraction than law. 
At the college of Bourges, where his legal educa- 
tion was continued under Alciati, a learned Ital- 
ian professor, Melchior Volmar, a Swabian, was 
professor of Greek. Calvin studied Greek and the 
New Testament under him, and by conversation 
with him was confirmed in adherence to the prin- 
ciples of the Reformation. He had already joined 
the company of evangelical believers at Orleans; 
and at Bourges he was impelled by a sense of 
duty, contrary to his natural inclination for re- 



JOHN CALVIN. 117 

tirement, to teach privately and publicly the doc- 
trines which he had embraced. Young as he was, 
many sought his instruction and advice; and he 
preached to the poor and the rich in the neigh- 
boring hamlets and mansions. 

After his father's death Calvin resided for two 
years at Noyon. In 1529 he went to Paris, where 
he lived with Etienne de la Forge, aftewards a 
martyr to the Reformed faith. In the house of 
this man Calvin often preached to assemblies of 
believers, whom, in the midst of actual and 
threatening persecutions, he encouraged to trust 
and fidelity. Finally, to the joy of his friends, 
he abandoned the study of law and devoted him- 
self wholly to theology; and in 1532, although in 
need of money, he resigned his benefices, which 
he could no longer conscientiously hold. Already 
he w^as regarded as the leader of the Reformed 
movement in France, a movement which the Sor- 
bonne, the leading theological college of the uni- 
versity of Paris, had condemned as heretical, and 
which Francis I. was endeavoring to crush with 
a violence that had sent many into exile or pris- 
on, and several to the stake. It was under such 
circumstances that Calvin composed for his friend 
Nicholas Cop, new rector of the Sorbonne, an ad- 
dress which boldly defended the proscribed evan- 
gelical doctrines, and especially that of justifica- 



u8 ' HEROES AND HEROINES. 

tion by faith alone. This address, delivered by 
Cop at his inauguration on the feast of All-Saints, 
1533, so aroused the indignation of the king, the 
parliament, and the Sorbonne, that both the 
speaker and the writer were obliged to seek safety 
in flight. 

At Saintonge, in the home of Louis du Tillet, 
a canon of Angouleme, and at Nerac, the resi- 
dence of the king's sister, Queen Margaret of Na- 
varre, who was herself an earnest disciple of the 
Reformed faith, Calvin, under the name of d'Es- 
peville, found a temporary refuge. At the queen's 
court he made the acquaintance of Lefevre, who 
had boldly proclaimed the truths of the gospel 
from his chair in the Sorbonne, and banished 
thence, was now the tutor of Queen Margaret's 
children. 

In 1534 Calvin returned to Paris, where, how- 
ever, he lived in concealment, until, " at no small 
risk to his life," as he says, he came forth from 
his seclusion to engage in a theological discussion 
with Servetus, who was already proclaiming his 
peculiar opinions: but the Spaniard, less fearless 
than Calvin, failed to appear. 

Persecution again drove Calvin from Paris 
and from France. After stopping for a while at 
Poitiers, where, in a grotto outside of the town, 
he celebrated the Lord's supper with a large 



JOHN CALVIN. 119 

company of the Reformed who had gathered 
round him for instruction; and at Orleans, where 
he published a treatise against the Anabaptists' 
theory that the soul sleeps after death, he went, 
with Du Tillet, to Strasburg, and was warmly 
welcomed by Bucer. He next repaired to Basel, 
where he studied Hebrew under Capito, the leader 
of the Reformation there. At Basel, in 1536, Cal- 
vin published, in Latin, his work on the 4 ' Insti- 
tutes of the Christian Religion," which he had 
hastily prepared in defence of the faith of the 
Reformed, who were accused of holding Anabap- 
tist tenets and wishing to subvert all civil author- 
ity. As Francis I. helped to circulate this cal- 
umny, declaring, through his ambassadors to the 
German Protestant princes, whose friendship he 
desired to retain, that the punishments inflicted 
upon " Lutheran heretics" in his own dominions 
were justified by the evil opinions and character 
of the sufferers, Calvin dedicated his book to the 
king, and addressed him in a forcible preface, 
defending the Protestants, and exposing the false 
claims of Rome. The body of the work consisted 
of treatises on the Ten Commandments, the Apos- 
tles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the sacra- 
ments, on Christian liberty, the false sacraments 
of Rome, and the authority and polity of the 
church of Christ. Calvin insisted strongly on the 



120 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

sinful corruption of the whole nature of man con- 
sequent on the fall of Adam and transmitted to 
all his descendants, by reason of which original 
corruption each individual merits the wrath and 
punishment of God ; upon the inability of man to 
deliver himself from this state of guilt and sin; 
and upon the sovereignty of God, as shown in the 
grace by which, through the operation of the Holy 
Spirit, he inclines to himself those whom he has 
chosen to save through Christ. 

This work — which excelled any system of the- 
ology before prepared, and which, though the au- 
thor was but twenty-six when it was published, 
was composed with such maturity of thought and 
judgment that it was afterwards subjected to elab- 
oration only, not change — became very popular. 
Calvin soon translated it into French, and from 
time to time, as successive editions were required, 
revised and enlarged it. Its influence has been 
immense on religious thought and practice and 
ecclesiastical government from Calvin's own time 
to the present day, and it is still a theological 
" classic.'? 

From Basel Calvin went to the court of Renee, 
daughter of Louis XII. of France, and wife of the 
Duke of Ferrara. She, like the Queen of Na- 
varre, was a disciple of the Reformers, and near 
her Calvin, again under the assumed name of 



JOHN CALVIN. 121 

Charles d'Espeville, found an asylum for a time: 
but his conversation, his sermons, and his life, 
soon drew upon him the attention of the agents 
of the Inquisition, and it became necessary for 
him to leave Italy. 

After some further wanderings he arrived, in 
August, 1536, at Geneva, where he met his old 
friend and protector, Louis du Tillet, who intro- 
duced him to Farel, at that time the leading Prot- 
estant minister in Geneva. Calvin had no thought 
of remaining in this city, which he had visited on 
his way to Basel, where he intended to settle and 
devote himself to study, but Farel knew that he 
was the very man needed in Geneva at that for- 
mative period of the Reformation, and determined 
that he would not permit him to leave. The dis- 
cussion which ensued between these noble men, 
as detailed by the historian of the Reformation, is 
very remarkable. No doubt Farel was, as Calvin 
finally believed, impressed by the Spirit of God to 
urge the other to undertake the work in Geneva. 
Calvin trembled under the zealous words of Farel : 
! ' May God curse your repose, may God curse your 
studies, if, in such a great necessity as ours, you 
withdraw, and refuse to give us your help." 
Calvin yielded, and began the work of lecturing 
on theology, and afterwards of preaching, being 
appointed pastor of the cathedral of St. Peter. 

Heroes. J ^ 



122 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

Geneva was just then at a critical period. It 
had lately (1526) thrown off the rule of the dukes 
of Savoy, and established a republican govern- 
ment, in alliance with Berne and Freiburg. Fa- 
rel, Froment, and other evangelical preachers, 
had proclaimed the gospel there, and won adhe- 
rents, in spite of the opposition of a determined 
and powerful Romish party. Protestant Berne, 
by virtue of its alliance with Geneva, insisted 
that the Genevese should be permitted to choose 
between the gospel and the pope. In July, 1533, 
the bishop withdrew from the stormy scenes in 
the city. After two public disputations (1534) 
between Romanists and Reformers, when the lat- 
ter were victorious, and a series of struggles in 
which blood flowed on both sides, allegiance to 
the bishop was finally renounced, and the Coun- 
cil of Geneva, in August, 1535, abolished the Ro- 
mish rites and legalized evangelical preaching 
and worship. 

But the Reformation was only begun. Many 
of the popish doctrines were still cherished, and 
the Genevese, from their imperfect enlighten- 
ment, were in danger of being led into error by 
fanatical teachers, such as the Anabaptists. One 
of the first acts of Calvin, together with Farel, 
was the preparation of a brief system of Christian 
doctrine, which the citizens of Geneva were re- 



JOHN CALVIN. 123 

quired to profess and swear to. The secular and 
religious education of children was provided for 
by the establishment of schools, in which a cate- 
chism prepared by Calvin formed one of the 
studies. The Anabaptists were finally silenced 
in a disputation in March, 1537. This, however, 
was only the beginning of a succession of strug- 
gles for Calvin. He and Farel were accused of 
holding wrong views in regard to the Trinity; 
but their belief was vindicated, and their de- 
famer, Peter Caroli, a reformed pastor of Lau- 
sanne, was banished. Dissensions next arose in 
Geneva about the strict ecclesiastical discipline 
which Calvin and his colleagues in the ministry 
were endeavoring to enforce, the simplicity of 
the ritual which Farel had introduced, and the 
Reformers' determined resistance to dictation from 
the government in regard to usages of worship, 
preaching, and other church matters. At Easter, 
1538, so violent was the popular rage against the 
preachers that Calvin and Farel refused to cele- 
brate the Lord's supper, on the ground that the 
people were unfit for it. This action was fol- 
lowed by the pastors' banishment from Geneva, 
and the government and people refused to receive 
them back even when the synod of the Swiss 
clergy requested that they might be allowed to 
return. 



124 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

Calvin next settled at Strasburg, where he 
was pastor of a congregation of about 1,500 
French refugees, and also lectured on theology. 
There he prepared a new edition of his Institutes, 
wrote a commentary on Romans and a treatise on 
the Lord's supper — books which gave I^uther 
lively satisfaction — and revised Olivetan's French 
Bible. In 1540 he married Idelette de Bures, 
widow of an Anabaptist whom Calvin had con- 
verted. Until 1549, when she died, to the great 
and lasting grief of her husband, Calvin found 
her, as he says, ' c a precious help ' ' who 4 1 never 
opposed him." In 1541 he made the acquaint- 
ance of Melanchthon at the Diet of Ratisbon, 
and from ( ( the teacher of Germany ' ' received the 
title of "the theologian." His after relations 
with Melanchthon were most affectionate. 

With Geneva Calvin kept up some connec- 
tion by writing letters of judicious advice to 
those who were friendly to him there, and whose 
party — the Guillermins, or Williamites, from Wil- 
liam Farel — gradually gained the ascendency 
over his opposers. When, in 1539, Cardinal 
Sadolet, taking advantage of the disorder and 
irreligion prevalent in Geneva, tried to win the 
Genevese back to the church of Rome, the task 
of answering his letter was committed to Calvin, 
and he ably refuted the cardinal's brilliant, but 



JOHN CALVIN. 125 

unsound arguments. The influential portion of 
the Genevese perceived that their city needed 
Calvin, and in 1540 the council sent him an 
urgent invitation to return. He declined it, but 
was finally prevailed upon to reenter the city as 
pastor and professor of theology, September 13, 
1541, to the manifest joy of the people. 

As Calvin had stipulated, his system of eccle- 
siastical government and discipline was adopted 
by the Genevese. The presbyterial system was 
inaugurated in a consistory composed of six min- 
isters and twelve annually elected lay elders, who 
together formed a tribunal which met weekly for 
the consideration of cases of discipline, and pos- 
sessed the power to inflict excommunication. The 
civil government was expected to follow up this 
decree with further penalties, when such were 
deemed necessary. Although offences which we 
should regard as trivial were often severely cen- 
sured or punished, the effect of the system, con- 
joined with the public and private instruction in 
religion and morals arranged for by Calvin, was 
so conducive to the good order of the city that 
John Knox, who repeatedly visited it between 
1554 and 1556, pronounced it " the most perfect 
school of Christ since the days of the apostles. ' ! 

Calvin's labors were manifold and severe. 
He lectured on theology three days in the week, 



126 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

preached every day in every other week, met the 
consistory weekly, and read and expounded the 
Scriptures every Friday in the general meeting 
called the ' ' congregation. ' ' Beside these duties, 
he was engaged in controversy on a variety of 
subjects, carried on an extensive correspondence, 
being appealed to from all quarters for advice, 
and wrote valuable Latin or French commenta- 
ries on almost all the books of the Bible. Soon 
after his return he was appointed one of a com- 
mittee to codify the state laws of Geneva. He 
interested himself in the material prosperity of 
the city, revived its manufactures of cloth and 
velvet, and its trade in those articles, and intro- 
duced admirable sanitary regulations. Often, as 
he said, he had no time to look up at the sun or 
to sleep. Two thousand manuscript sermons of 
his are now in the library of Geneva. 

A party — the Libertines — opposed to Calvin's 
theocratic ideas and ecclesiastical discipline was 
not lacking during his second residence in Gene- 
va; and more than once he was called a second 
pope, and even threatened with death. Passing 
by his controversy with the Romanist Pighius, 
who opposed Calvin's presentation of the doctrine 
of predestination and election, but was converted 
to his antagonist's views, 1543, and the lengthier 
and more vexatious controversy on the same sub- 



JOHN CALVIN. 127 

ject, in 1551, with Bolsec, formerly a Carmelite 
monk, which resulted in the banishment of Cal- 
vin's opponent for pertinacious maintenance of 
heresy, we must give some little notice to the 
trial of Servetus, Calvin's former challenger to a 
disputation in Paris. 

Servetus made his appearance in Geneva in 
1553, contrary to Calvin's expressed desire. He 
was accused by Calvin of heresy, chiefly in re- 
gard to the person of Christ, whom he regarded 
as in a sense divine, yet not the incarnate eternal 
Son of the Father. Servetus was arrested and 
imprisoned, tried before two of the three councils 
of Geneva, and condemned to be burned, together 
with the two books in which he had advocated 
his doctrines. Refusing to recant, his sentence 
was executed at Champel, about a mile from 
Geneva, October 27, 1553. 

Calvin has been fiercely censured for his part 
in this matter. And, truly, the execution of 
Servetus was in accord with the spirit of Rome, 
papal and pagan, or the abrogated Old Testa- 
ment laws of the Hebrew theocracy, rather than 
with the New Testament dispensation, and the 
mind of Him who rebuked his disciples for desir- 
ing to call down fire on a village that would not 
receive him. But it must be remembered that 
Calvin was far from originating capital punish- 



128 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

ment for heretical doctrine: it was the heritage 
from Rome of the Reformers in the age in which 
he lived. It was not the desire of Calvin that 
Servetus should be burned; he tried, in vain, 
to obtain the commutation of his sentence to be- 
heading. 

The execution of Servetus inflamed the enmi- 
ty of Calvin's opponents in Geneva, and for sev- 
eral years he was involved in serious conflicts 
with the Libertines. The government sometimes 
opposed him, and sometimes supported him; and 
finally he saw his ecclesiastical system firmly 
established in Geneva, and imitated in other parts 
of Switzerland, and also in France and Scotland. 
Owing to his exertions, the new Academy of 
Geneva was opened in 1559, with Calvin's warm 
friend and biographer, Beza, as its first rector, 
and a list of six hundred students. 

Calvin's unremitting labors favored the in- 
roads of a variety of distressing diseases, which 
he suffered from for many years, but bravely 
battled against or disregarded, hating nothing so 
much as idleness. On February 6, 1564, he 
preached, with difficulty, his last sermon. After 
that he left his house but a few times, when he 
was carried on a litter to the council-hall and the 
church. Once a deputation from the council vis- 
ited him on his sick-bed, and received his exhor- 



JOHN CA L VI N. 1 29 

tation to use their authority to the glory of God. 
And several times the clergy of the city and 
neighborhood gathered around him. In the midst 
of intense sufferings his spirit was calm and 
peaceful, and he occupied himself with the Bible 
and in prayer. When Farel, in his eightieth 
year, heard of his sickness, he wrote from Neiif- 
chatel that he would visit him, to which Calvin 
replied, in a letter dated May 2: u Farewell, my 
best and most right-hearted brother, and since 
God is pleased that you should survive me in this 
world, live mindful of our friendship, of w T hich, 
as it was useful to the church of God, the fruit 
still awaits us in heaven. I would not have you 
fatigue yourself on my account. I draw my 
breath with difficulty, and am daily waiting till 
I altogether cease to breathe. It is enough that 
to Christ I live and die; to his people he is gain 
in life and death. Farewell again, not forgetting 
the brethren." Such words show that love as 
well as zeal had a place in Calvin's heart. 

On the 27th of May, as the sun was setting, 
he fell asleep in Jesus. He was buried, as we 
have already stated, on the banks of the Rhone, 
outside of the city where he had so long labored 
in behalf of the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
He asked that no monument might be placed 
upon his grave; and the spot where, some thirty 

Heroes. \ 7 



130 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

years ago, the black stone was erected, is only 
conjectured to be his burial-place. 

Prof. Tulloch well says of Calvin: "He was 
a great, intense, and energetic character, who 
more than any other even of that great age has 
left his impress on the history of Protestantism. ' ' 

His clear intellect, and his logical acumen, 
together with his concise and crisp diction, make 
his works, even in the present day, a power in 
the church of God. He was needed in the church 
just as truly as Luther, Knox, or Wesley, and we 
thank God for the gift of such a man. 



JOHN KNOX. 131 



JOHN KNOX. 

On the 26th day of November, 1572, in the 
presence of a large concourse of people, composed 
largely of the notable men of Scotland, Earl 
Morton, the regent of the kingdom, standing over 
an open grave in the churchyard of St. Giles, 
Edinburgh, pronounced this eulogy: " There lies 
he who never feared the face of man." The ex- 
traordinary man who called forth this eulogy was 
John Knox, and his life will form the subject of 
our present sketch. 

* He was born in 1505, at Giffordgate, a suburb 
of Haddington, in East-Lothian, Scotland, and 
was educated principally at the grammar-school 
of Haddington, and in the university of Glas- 
gow. At the latter place he studied theology 
and philosophy under Prof. Mair, a man noted 
as being u an advanced thinker" at the time; 
and yet, judging by the writings he left, many 
of his discussions, says Dr. McCrie, were ( c utterly 
useless and trifling. ' ' Nevertheless, it is believed 
that both John Knox and George Buchanan, the 
celebrated scholar and historian, Were largely in- 
fluenced by him to pursue in an independent man- 



132 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

ner the investigation of the subjects that might 
come before them. At any rate, it is certain 
that both these pupils became leaders of thought, 
and their names yet live, an honor to their 
country. 

For some unknown reason, Knox did not fit 
himself to receive the degree of master of arts at 
the university, and the course of his life for some 
years after he left there is uncertain. Without 
the degree of master he could not have been a 
regent or professor in any university, as he is 
sometimes, without proof, said to have been; but 
he may have taught privately. He was probably 
ordained a priest about 1530, and officiated for a 
number of years at or near Haddington. 

At this period the Romish hierarchy controlled 
the whole country, and possessed a large share of 
its wealth. Bishops and abbots were privy coun- 
cillors, and appointments to these positions were 
contended for with the same zeal and the same 
arts that wicked men employed to obtain secular 
positions. Inquiry was branded as infidelity; and 
learning, as the propagation of heresy. But 
though, in 1525, the Scottish parliament had 
passed a law prohibiting the importation of any 
of Luther's writings, or the immigration of any 
of his followers into Scotland, which had hith- 
erto, says the act, c ' bene clene of all sic filth and 



JOHN KNOX. 133 

vice," some of these writings found their way 
into the country, and thoughtful, independent 
men Uke Knox were prepared to read them. 

Knox's attachment to the Romish church was 
shaken as early as 1535; and in 1542 he began 
to make his new faith and principles publicly 
known. As this conduct drew suspicion and 
enmity upon him, he withdrew from the diocese 
of St. Andrews, presided over by the persecuting 
archbishop and cardinal, Beaton, and went to the 
south of Scotland, where he aided George Wish- 
art in the proclamation of those principles for 
which, in 1528, Patrick Hamilton had died. He 
carried before Wishart i c a two-handed sword n as 
a token that he would defend him while he was 
preaching the gospel against any outbreak by 
lawless men. Wishart was, however, soon ar- 
rested by the authorities, and when Knox, who 
had already been declared a heretic and degraded 
from the priesthood, professed his readiness to 
stand by him, he repelled the offer, saying, " Re- 
turn to your bairns; one is sufficient for a sacri- 
fice;" that is, "Go back to your pupils," Knox 
having obtained a position of tutor to the sons of 
two families who had embraced reform principles. 

Wishart was soon after taken to St. Andrews 
and burned, at which the people who had wit- 
nessed his martyrdom and sympathized with his 



134 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

views were so incensed that a company of men 
combined together and assassinated the arch- 
bishop, May 29, 1546, took possession of the 
castle, and made St. Andrews the stronghold of 
the reformers. The leaders among the Protes- 
tants did not approve of the assassination of Car- 
dinal Beaton, and certainly did not advise it; yet 
there was little regret that it was done. Hence 
lampoons like the following were quite popular : 

" As for the cardinal, we grant, 
He was a man we weel might want, 

And we '11 forget him sone ; 
And yet I think, the sooth to say, 
Although the lown is weell away, 

The deed was foully done." 

About a year after the death of Beaton, Knox, 
who was desirous of visiting Germany, was per- 
suaded by the parents of his pupils to take refuge 
instead in the Castle of St. Andrews. While 
there he was elected pastor of the Protestants in 
St. Andrews, and was very successful; so that a 
large number of the garrison in the castle and 
many of the inhabitants of the town renounced 
Popery and professed the Protestant faith. But 
his work was soon ended, for, at the request of 
the regent of the kingdom, Mary of Guise, whose 
forces were attempting the capture of the castle 
in revenge for the murder of Beaton, a French 



JOHN KNOX. 135 

fleet appeared before the town in June, 1547, and 
it was found necessary to capitulate. 

* Knox, with others, was taken to France, and 
condemned as a slave to the galleys. His captiv- 
ity, which lasted for about eighteen months, was 
a hard one, and all the more so because he still 
maintained his Protestant principles; but he was 
in an especial manner upheld by the consolations 
of God's Spirit, and had an assured confidence 
that he would preach again at St. Andrews. 
When the galley on which he was employed vis- 
ited the coast of Scotland in the summer of 1548, 
and he was asked by a fellow-prisoner, pointing 
to the spires of St. Andrews, if he thought he 
would ever visit the city again, he replied, lc I 
am fully persuaded, how weak soever I now ap- 
pear, that I shall not depart this life till that my 
tongue shall glorify His holy name in the same 
place." By-and-by he realized the hope with 
which he was inspired. In February, 1549, he 
was released, probably at the intercession of the 
English government, and immediately repaired 
to England. 

Henry VIII. had been dead two years, and the 
boy, Edward VI., his successor, was favorable to 
the Reformation. Knox was known to the king's 
council of regency by reputation, and was well 
received by them, and soon appointed as preacher 



136 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

at Berwick. During the five years of his resi- 
dence in England he held positions of large in- 
fluence. At Berwick his fearless preaching 
against the idolatry of the Romish mass brought 
him into disfavor with Bishop Tunstall, who 
summoned him to give an account of his doctrines, 
but on hearing his vindication dismissed him with- 
out venturing to censure him. In the beginning 
of 1 551, Knox was transferred to Newcastle; and 
at the end of the year he was made one of the six 
royal chaplains, and occasionally preached before 
the king. As royal chaplain he signed his name 
to the articles of religion drawn up by Cranmer 
as the standard of doctrine of the English Church. 
The bishopric of Rochester and the living of All 
Hallows, in London, were afterwards offered to 
Knox, but he declined them both, and had to an- 
swer before the privy council for so doing. 

He rejected the bishopric because he believed 
' c the episcopal office was destitute of divine au- 
thority, and inconsistent with the canons of the 
church herself. " At St. Andrews he had taught, 
in opposition to popery, "that no mortal man 
could be the head of the church ; that there were 
no true bishops but such as preached personally, 
without a substitute; that in religion men were 
bound to regulate themselves by divine laws; and 
that the sacraments ought to be administered ex- 



JOHN KNOX. 137 

actly according to the institution and example of 
Christ ;" and without repudiating some of these 
principles he felt that he could not become a bishop 
in the English Church, over which Henry VIII. 
had asserted a supremacy for the monarch of 
England much like that which the pope claimed 
over all Christendom. 

Edward VI. died in July, 1553, and was suc- 
ceeded by Mary. Protestant worship was pro- 
hibited, persecution was commenced, and Knox, 
at the urgent request of his friends, escaped to 
the Continent, landing at Dieppe in January, 
1554. A short time previous to this he had either 
married or solemnly betrothed himself to Miss 
Marjory Bowes, of Berwick, but he had to leave 
England without even the opportunity of bidding 
her farewell. God led him finally to Geneva, 
where he was greatly gladdened by his intercourse 
with Calvin. From this place he went to Frank- 
fort, and for a short time acted as pastor of the 
congregation of English refugees. After resign- 
ing his charge there, in March, 1555, on account 
of dissensions in the congregation in regard to 
usages of worship, he visited Scotland, and passed 
through a large part of it, secretly preaching in 
the houses of the faithful, and exhorting them to 
continue in the faith. In the summer of 1556, 
he went, with his wife and her mother, to Gene- 
Heroes, I g 



138 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

va, to become the pastor of the English congrega- 
tion there, which included many who had taken 
his part in the disagreements at Frankfort. 

At Geneva he remained two years, which were 
probably the quietest and fullest of enjoyment of 
all the years of his life. During this period, irri- 
tated by the fierce bigotry and unwearying cruelty 
of Bloody Mary, he wrote his treatise, i l The First 
Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regi- 
ment of Women, n in which he attempted to show 
that women had no right to the government of 
nations, etc. This pamphlet excited the enmity 
of Mary of England, and her successor Elizabeth, 
and also of Mary of Guise, queen-regent of Scot- 
land, and her daughter Mary, the future queen. 
It would have been better if it had never been 
written. 

Finally, at the request of the Protestant nobles, 
Knox returned to Scotland, arriving at Leith 
May 2, 1559. At the time of his arrival a pro- 
vincial council was sitting in the monastery of 
the Grey friars, in Edinburgh, concocting schemes 
to forward the interests of popery. When in- 
formed that John Knox had arrived, and that he 
had slept the preceding night in Edinburgh, the 
assembly was panic-stricken. A messenger was 
at once despatched to the regent, and Knox was 
proclaimed an outlaw and rebel. 



JOHN KNOX. 139 

A very short time after this Knox preached a 
sermon at Perth against the idolatry of the host 
and image-worship, and at its close, in conse- 
quence of an altercation between a priest and a 
boy, a spirit of violence w T as aroused, and the 
mob destroyed the images in the church, and tore 
down the monasteries. From Perth, Knox jour- 
neyed, preaching in the various towns on his way 
to St. Andrews, where, in accordance with his 
confident expectation while a galley-slave, he 
preached again u in that place w T here God first 
opened his mouth. ' ' Against the advice of friends 
and the threats of the archbishop, he determined 
to preach in the cathedral; and so powerful were 
the sermons that he delivered there, for four suc- 
cessive days, that the magistrates and citizens of 
St. Andrews established the reformed worship, 
destroyed the images and pictures in the churches, 
and laid the monasteries in ruins. Many other 
places followed the example of the cities already 
reformed. 

The lords, or lay leaders, of the congregation, 
as the Scottish Protestants, united by a solemn 
covenant in defence of their faith, were now 
called, were successful against the troops of the 
regent. In the end of June they took possession 
of Edinburgh, and Knox was elected pastor of 
St. Giles' Church. He was soon, however, com- 



140 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

pelled to leave the city in consequence of its being 
surrendered to the regent's troops, and he under- 
took a preaching tour through the country, and 
accomplished much for the cause in which he 
embarked. A reward was publicly offered to any 
one who would apprehend or kill him; but God 
kept him in safety, and in October of this same 
year he took a leading part in a convention of 
nobles, barons, and representatives of the king- 
dom, where they, as far as they could, suspended 
the queen-regent from her position until the meet- 
ing of a free parliament. Knox held, and was not 
afraid to avow it, that rulers are invested with 
authority for the public good; that obedience is 
not due to them in anything contrary to the di- 
vine law; that the law of the land is superior to 
a prince, and that no class of men have a right to 
rule over the people without their consent. 

- The lords of the congregation obtained aid 
from England, now governed by Elizabeth, 
against the queen-regent and her Scotch Catho- 
lics and French allies; Leith was captured after 
a long siege, during which the queen-regent died; 
and the treaty of Edinburgh was signed, July 7, 
1560, by which both the French and English 
troops evacuated Scotland, and its government 
was committed to a council of its lords. John 
Knox returned to his charge in Edinburgh; and 



JOHN KNOX. 141 

in August the Scottish parliament there assem- 
bled abolished Popery, and established the Prot- 
estant religion, adopting a confession of faith 
drawn up chiefly by Knox. The privy council 
soon after commissioned Knox and three other 
ministers to draw up a plan of ecclesiastical gov- 
ernment. The " Book of Policy" then prepared 
was approved by the first general assembly of the 
Church of Scotland, which met December 20, 
1560, and is still known as the " First Book of 
Discipline." 

The following year, 1561, Mary Stuart, lately 
widowed, was invited to assume the reins of gov- 
ernment herself. The young queen arrived in 
Scotland from France full of prejudice against the 
Protestant religion, and prepared, by direct or in- 
direct means, to restore Popery as the religion of 
the realm. One of her first steps was to summon 
the leading Scottish reformer to an interview in 
the palace of Holyrood. Knox boldly confronted 
her on this and other occasions, and though possi- 
bly not alw T ays as politic as prudence might have 
demanded, he was certainly honest and brave, 
and his efforts were crowned with wonderful suc- 
cess. Few men in any age could have mustered 
the courage to declare to their sovereign, in her 
' own palace, as Knox did, 

"If princes exceed their bounds, madam, no 



142 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

doubt they may be resisted, even by power. For 
no greater honor or greater obedience is to be 
given to kings and princes than God has com- 
manded to be given to father and mother. But 
the father may be struck with a frenzy, in which 
he would slay his children. Now, madam, if the 
children arise, join together, apprehend the fa- 
ther, take the sword from him, bind his hands, 
and keep him a prisoner till the frenzy be over, 
think you, madam, that the children do any 
wrong?" 

" Well, then, I perceive that my subjects shall 
obey you, and not me, and will do what they 
please, and not what I command." 

1 ( God forbid, ' ' said the reformer, c ( that ever I 
take upon me to command any to obey me, or to 
set subjects at liberty to do whatever pleases them; 
but my travail is, that both prijices and subjects may 
obey God" 

The contest between Popery, headed by Man", 
and Protestantism, headed by Knox, went on, and 
Mary, despairing of moving the reformer by either 
flattery or tears, caused his indictment for treason, 
and herself appeared as prosecutrix of the charge 
at his trial before the privy council, in December, 
1562. The trial resulted in Knox's, discharge, and 
his commendation, by the majority of the noble- 
men present, for his judicious defence. 



JOHN KNOX. 143 

In March, 1564, Knox, having lost his first 
wife three years before, married Margaret Stew- 
art, daughter of Lord Ochiltree, the ceremony 
being performed in a room which is still shown 
in Ochiltree House. 

About a month after Queen Mary's marriage 
to Lord Darnley in the summer of 1565, a ser- 
mon preached by Knox at St. Giles 5 offended the 
young king, who was present, and occasioned 
the second summons of Knox before the privy 
council. The reformer, in his defence, declared 
that he had but followed his text, Isa. 26 : 13-21; 
but he was forbidden to preach again while the 
queen and her husband remained in Edinburgh. 
During the two years which intervened between 
this time and Mary's disgrace, Knox was engaged 
in the preparation of a Historie of the Reformatioun y 
in other literary labors, and in church visitations 
in the south of Scotland. 

In July, 1567, he preached the sermon at the 
coronation, at Stirling, of the infant king, James 
VI., whose mother's nobles, as well Catholic as 
Protestant, shocked by her marriage with her 
husband's murderer Bothwell, had risen against 
their queen, imprisoned her in Lochleven Castle, 
and appointed her son her successor, and her half- 
brother, the Earl of Murray, regent of the king- 
dom. 



144 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

The assassination of Murray in January, 1569, 
was a sore grief to the reformer, who preached 
the regent's funeral sermon on his interment in 
St. Giles'. Knox's health was already shaken 
by his many conflicts and trials, and a stroke of 
apoplexy further weakened him in October, 1570. 
He, however, recovered sufficiently to be able to 
preach again with his wonted faithfulness and 
vigor. 

In the spring of 1571 religious and political 
strife prevailed with such violence in Edinburgh, 
and Knox had so excited the enmity of an influ- 
ential party by the freedom of his utterances, that 
his friends urged his retirement to St. Andrews, 
where he accordingly spent fifteen months. After 
his return in weakness to Edinburgh in August, 
1572, he was helped into the pulpit one day in 
the following September, and with all the energy 
that he could summon denounced the French 
king, Charles IX., for the terrible massacre of the 
Huguenots begun on St. Bartholomew's day, 
tidings of which event had just reached Scot- 
land. 

After appearing but once more in public, at 
the induction of his successor at St. Giles', the 
reformer's little remaining strength rapidly gave 
way, and he died on Monday the 24th of Novem- 
ber, 1572. On the Wednesday following, the 



JOHN KNOX. 145 

eulogy which we have already quoted was pro- 
nounced over his grave. 

We close our sketch with the following ex- 
tract from the volume of Dr. McCrie, to which 
we are partly indebted for the facts above re- 
lated: 

" He died in the sixty-seventh year of his age, 
not so much oppressed with years, as worn out 
and exhausted by his extraordinary labors of body 
and anxieties of mind. Few men were ever ex- 
posed to more dangers, or underwent greater hard- 
ships. From the time when he embraced the re- 
formed religion till he breathed his last, seldom 
did he enjoy a tespite from trouble ; and he emerged 
from one scene of difficulty and danger only to be 

involved in another still more distressing 

Yet he escaped all these perils, and finished his 
course in peace and in honor. No wonder that 
he was weary of the world, and anxious to de- 
part; and with great propriety might it be said, 
at his decease, that ' he rested from his labors.' n 



19 



146 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



THOMAS CRANMER. 

On the twenty-first of March, 1556, in the 
third year of the reign of Bloody Mary of Eng- 
land, a sad procession passed from the Bocardo 
prison to St. Mary's Church, Oxford. The first 
in the procession was the lord mayor, followed 
by the aldermen of the city, and after them two 
friars, mumbling psalms, and between them an 
old man, nearly seventy years of age, dressed in 
u a bare and ragged gown, and ill-fa voredly 
clothed, with an old square cap. ' ' And yet this 
same man had been the primate of England, and 
the king's privy councillor — as compared with 
many of his compeers, a faithful minister of the 
gpspel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a reformer 
in the church. In his old age he had fallen into 
the hands of papal persecutors, and he need ex- 
pect no mercy. Yet in fairness it must be stated 
that he, in common not only with the Church of 
Rome, but also with many truly pious Protestants 
of that intolerant age, held that death was the 
right punishment for misbelief; he had theoreti- 
cally and practically favored the capital punish- 
ment of heretics: and in the judgment of those 



THOMAS CRANMER. 147 

who tried him, he was a heretic. His career was 
a chequered one ; and though he was not without 
grave faults, his connection with the Reformation 
renders his name w r orthy of remembrance. 

Thomas Cranmer, the old man of whom we 
have spoken, was born in July, 1489, at Aslac- 
ton, Nottinghamshire, England; and, at the age 
of fourteen, w r as admitted a member of Jesus 
College, Cambridge. He was noted for patient 
study rather than brilliancy, and during his resi- 
dence here he accumulated stores of information 
which proved of great value to him in after 
years. In 1528 he w r as at Waltham, as tutor of 
the sons of Mr. Cressy, at whose house he met 
Gardiner and Fox, two officers of the royal house- 
hold of Henry VIII. In conversation with them 
he made some suggestions respecting the king's 
desired divorce from his wife, Catherine of Ara- 
gon, the widow of his brother Arthur. A dis- 
pensation had been obtained from the pope ena- 
bling Henry to marry Catherine, marriage with a 
brother's widow being assumed to be contrary to 
the law of God; but now that the king had fallen 
in love w T ith Anne Boleyn, he claimed that he 
could not conscientiously live longer with Cathe- 
rine as his w^ife. Pope Clement VII. , however, 
refused to sanction a divorce; and Cranmer sug- 
gested submitting the question of the propriety 



i 4 S HEROES AND HEROINES. 

of the marriage with Catherine to learned di- 
vines. 

This suggestion being reported to the king, 
Cranmer was sent for, and empowered to procure 
the opinion of the universities and scholars of 
England and the Continent. This he accordingly 
did, making an extended tour for the purpose; 
and although he encountered much opposition, 
he succeeded in obtaining a sufficient showing in 
the king's favor to embolden Henry to take the 
matter into his own hands, assert his indepen- 
dence of the pope, and institute measures for the 
consummation of the divorce in England, on the 
ground that the former dispensation was unlaw- 
ful. Thus God overruled the wicked passion of 
the* king to further the Reformation. 

King Henry, being pleased with Cranmer' s 
diligence and ability in advocating the divorce, 
promoted him to the See of Canterbury. Thus 
he became metropolitan of England, and took the 
requisite oath of obedience to the pope, March 30, 
1533, protesting, however, that "he did not in- 
tend, by this oath, to restrain himself from any- 
thing that he was bound to, either by his duty to 
God, or the king, or the country." The follow- 
ing May he declared the king's marriage void, 
land officiated a week later, June 1, at the corona- 
tion of the new queen, Anne Boleyn. 



THOMAS CRANMER. 149 

More edifying than Cranmer' s connection with 
this and subsequent royal divorces, was the part 
which he took in causing the circulation of the 
Scriptures among the people. In December, 1534, 
he secured a resolution of the convocation, or as- 
sembly of the bishops and inferior clergy of Eng- 
land, in favor of a translation of the Bible. In 
1537 he gained Henry's sanction for the publica- 
tion of a version compiled by John Rogers from 
the translations of Tyndale and Coverdale; a re- 
vised edition of this work was published' in 1540, 
and known as the ( ' Cranmer Bible, ' ' because it 
contained an introduction by the primate. In 
1534 Cranmer also delivered an address in the 
House of Lords respecting general councils, in 
which he said u he much doubted in himself re- 
specting general councils, and thought that only 
the Word of God was the rule of faith which 
ought to take place in all controversies of reli- 
gion. The Scriptures were called canonical, as 
being the only rule of the faith of Christians; and 
these, by the appointments of ancient councils, 
alone were to be read in the churches. The .holy 
fathers, Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine, in 
many things differed from one another; but they 
always appealed to the Scriptures as the common 
and certain standard. ' ' 

Such conduct could not escape the notice of 



ISO HEROES AND HEROINES. 

the pope. Accordingly, in 1535, Pope Paul III. 
fulminated a terrific bull against Henry VIII. , 
releasing the English from their oaths of fidelity, 
ordering the nobles to take up arms against the 
king, requiring the ecclesiastics to leave the 
kingdom, and prohibiting other nations from 
having any intercourse with England, under the 
severest penalties. The bull was treated with 
contempt, and the sacredness of such rescripts 
was no longer revered. Thus the people w^ere 
being prepared for the Reformation. 

The following year, largely through Cranmer's 
influence, "The Primer" — a collection of some 
thirty distinct tracts — was published, in w r hich 
many of the leading doctrines of popery were at- 
tacked. But the publication of the several 
editions of the Bible did more than anything else 
to propagate the influence of the gospel in Eng- 
land, and Cranmer did much to facilitate their cir- 
culation. When he heard that his request for the 
royal authorisation of the edition of 1537 had 
been granted, he wrote "that it afforded him 
more joy than the gift of a thousand pounds. n 
It w r as through his influence that an order was 
given for the placing of an English Bible in every 
church, in a spot where it might be conveniently 
read by the people, many of whom resorted to 
the churches for the purpose. 



THOMAS CRANMER. 151 

The strict Romish party continued to oppose 
Cranmer and to labor for the full restoration to 
power of their agents ; and they succeeded in 
1539, through the influence of the Duke of Nor- 
folk, in securing an enactment known as the 
"Six Articles, n by which six of the principal 
errors of popery were again established, and 
agreement to them was required on pain of death. 
These articles sanctioned, first, the doctrine of 
transubstantiation ; second, the Romish commu- 
nion in one kind; third, priests were forbidden to 
marry; fourth, monastic vows were declared bind- 
ing ; fifth, private masses were allowed ; sixth, 
confession was enjoined. 

Cranmer was opposed to the measure, but as it 
was favored by King Henry, it became a law; 
and in less than fourteen days the prisons w r ere 
full of witnesses for the truth, most of whom, 
however, through the exertions of the prime min- 
ister Cromwell, were released not long after- 
wards. 

The year 1543 witnessed the publication of 
Cranmer' s translation of the Litany into English, 
which formed the germ of the English prayer- 
book, a work completed, in substantially the 
same form in which it now exists, by Cranmer 
and a commission under him, in the reign of Ed- 
ward VI. 



1 52 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

Notwithstanding Cranmer's occasional oppo- 
sition to the king, he had so won the regard of 
the monarch that Henry stood by him until his 
own death in July, 1547. Edward VI. succeeded 
his father, and during his reign the Reformation 
made great progress. Cranmer was encouraged 
by the young prince and by his uncle the lord- 
protector, Duke of Somerset, in every effort for 
the establishment of Protestantism; and, as a re- 
sult, " the worship of images was prohibited; the 
saints and the virgin were no longer allowed to 
usurp any of that honor which is due to God 
alone; transubstantiation and the sacrifice of the 
mass were no longer substituted for the true doc- 
trine and regular administration of the Lord's 
supper; the free use of the Scriptures in the vul- 
gar tongue was permitted to persons of every rank 
and condition; human traditions were not referred 
to as equal or superior in authority to the Word 
of God; public prayers were no longer offered in 
an unknown tongue; the clergy were not prohib- 
ited from marriage," etc. 

But Edward's reign lasted only some six years, 
and the great work could not be completed. Un- 
fortunately an effort was made, in the interests of 
Protestantism, to place upon the throne Lady Jane 
Grey, a granddaughter of the younger sister of 
Henry VIII. , instead of the legal heir, Mary, the 



THOAtAS CRANMER. 153 

daughter of Catherine of Aragon; and the result 
was the full identification of Mary with Popery 
after she obtained the crown. The progress of 
the Reformation was thereupon greatly hindered, 
and hundreds of its most godly defenders were 
made martyrs. 

In March, 1554, Cranmer, who had incurred 
the heavy displeasure of Mary by his course in 
regard to her mother and herself, and by his re- 
cent support of I^ady Jane Grey, was sent to prison 
at Oxford; there he was granted the mockery of a 
trial for heresy, was excommunicated, degraded 
from his archbishopric, and condemned to death. 
After his condemnation every artifice was resort- 
ed to by the Romish priesthood to induce him to 
recant; and dreading the fiery death that threat- 
ened him, he yielded, and signed no less than six 
recantations, each more abject than the preceding 
one. 

On the 21st of March, 1556, the sad proces- 
sion which we have already described took its 
way to St. Mary's Church, where Dr. Cole, after 
preaching a sermon on the mercy and justice of 
God, introduced Cranmer, that he might repeat 
his retraction before the assembled congregation. 
The old man kneeled in prayer, and then exhort- 
ed the people, concluding with the following 
words: 

Heroes. 20 



154 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

i c Now I come to the great thing that so much 
troubleth my conscience, more than anything 
which I ever did or said in my whole life; and 
that is the setting abroad of writings contrary to 
the truth, and which now here I renounce and 
refuse as things written with my hand contrary 
to the truth which I thought in my heart, and 
which were written for fear of death, to save my 
life if it might be; and that is all such bills and 
papers which I have written or signed with my 
hand since my degradation, wherein I have writ- 
ten many things untrue. And forasmuch as my 
hand offended, writing contrary to my heart, my 
hand shall first be punished therefor; for when I 
come to the fire, it shall be burned first. And as 
for the pope, I refuse him as Christ's enemy, and 
Antichrist, with all his false doctrine. ' ' 

This speech, so contrary to what was expect- 
ed, filled the priests with rage, and Cole cried 
out, "Stop the heretic's mouth, and take him 
away I" 

Soon he was dragged to the stake, and bound 
with a chain; and when the fire was kindled, he 
thrust his right hand into the flame, as he had 
promised, and with eyes lifted up to heaven, ex- 
claimed, " Oh, this unworthy right hand !" 

For twenty-seven years previous to his death 
he had done much for the cause of Christ and 



THOMAS CRANMER. 155 

Protestantism, and had in many respects well dis- 
charged the duties of the high positions which he 
occupied. It is easy to condemn many of his ac- 
tions; but whether, with his light and surround- 
ings, each one of us would have done better, is 
another question. 4 ' L,et him that thinketh he 
standeth take heed lest he fall." 

It has been truly said that u the key to his 
character is well given in what Hooper said of 
him in a letter to Bullinger, that he was k too fear- 
ful about what might happen to him. ' ' ' He had 
too great love of worldly ease and honor; too lit- 
tle trust in and devotion to God. 

Of the effect of his death, Green says, in his 
■ l Short History of the English People," p. 374: 

u . . . . Among a crowd of far more heroic suf- 
ferers, the Protestants fixed, in spite of his recanta- 
tions, on the martyrdom of Cranmer as the death- 
blow to Catholicism in England. For one man 
who felt within him the joy of Rowland Taylor 
at the prospect of the stake, there were thousands 

who felt the shuddering dread of Cranmer 

The sad pathos of the primate's humiliation and 
repentance struck chords of sympathy and pity in 
the hearts of all. It is from that moment that we 
may trace the bitter remembrance of the blood 
shed in the cause of Rome." 



1 56 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



JOHN BUNYAN. 

Almost at any time between the years 1660 
and 1672 might be seen in a "damp den" in 
Bedford jail, England, a thoughtful prisoner, 
busy either tagging corset-laces, that he might 
aid in the support of his family, or perhaps with 
his pen writing down sentences of a work which 
should afterwards be published in almost every 
land and read in nearly every tongue. It was a 
strange place to produce such a work, and, as 
men judge, a strange man who had undertaken 
it. Nevertheless it was done, and the name of 
John Bunyan is now known as one of the world's 
great and good men. 

Bunyan was born in the village of Elstow, 
near Bedford, in 1628. His life ran through that 
stormy period in English history which included 
the execution of Charles I., the Protectorate of 
one of England's greatest men, Oliver Cromwell, 
and ended with the Revolution of 1688. Bun- 
yan' s education was very meagre. It extended 
little, if at all, beyond reading and writing. He 
was evidently a bold, reckless boy; but his mind 
must early have been impressed with many of the 
truths of religion, for his conscience was even in 




:>A 



C*^2^? 



JOHN BUNYAN 157 

his wickedest days by no means seared, and it 
held him back from many a sin. He enlisted 
when about seventeen in the Parliamentary ranks, 
and no doubt was a brave soldier. At one time, 
while in the service, he was with others selected 
for some dangerous work at the siege of Leicester, 
but for some reason another soldier begged to be 
allowed to go in his place. The request was 
granted, the substitute was killed, and Bunyan, 
when he afterwards came to accept the doctrine 
that " God's kingdom ruleth over all" — "that a 
sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his 
knowledge" — was devoutly thankful that the 
Lord had in this way, and in other ways and 
times, saved him from death. 

He married while quite young, and his wife 
seems to have exerted a good influence over him, 
and succeeded in taking him to the parish church 
with her, at least for the forenoon services. In 
the afternoon he preferred a game of ball on the 
village green to the services of the sanctuary ; but 
on one particular Sabbath the parish minister 
preached on the profanation of the Sabbath, a 
sermon which greatly impressed Bunyan. The 
impression wore off before he had quite finished 
his dinner, and he went to his usual sport on the 
green; but in the midst of the game, while he was 
striking the cat with his bat, it seemed to him 



158 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

that a voice suddenly broke into his soul, saying, 
" Wilt thou leave thy sins and go to heaven, or 
have thy sins and go to hell ?' ! The sequence of 
this appeal of God's Spirit was at the time a fit of 
despair. Bunyan concluded that he would be lost, 
and so gave himself up to wickedness, and espe- 
cially to the use of profane language, in which he 
indulged so freely that he was one day reproved 
by a woman of bad character, who told him that 
1 ' his words made her tremble. ' ' Conviction fol- 
lowed her reproof, and from that time he aban- 
doned this ungodly practice. Some conversation 
on religion and the Bible led him to take an in- 
terest in reading the Scriptures, and to be still 
more particular in regard to his behavior. His 
neighbors noticed the change in his conduct, and 
began to speak of it ; and afterwards he wrote 
concerning it, " Though as yet I was nothing but 
a poor painted hypocrite, yet I loved to be talked 
of as one that was truly godly. ' ' 

Pear took possession of his soul, so that he did 
not dare ring the church bell, an amusement he 
was very fond of, lest the steeple should fall, and 
he be brought face to face with that God whom 
he had so often offended. But he says, in his 
" Grace Abounding," that in the good providence 
of God he went to Bedford in the pursuit of his 
calling as "a travelling tinker," and while pass- 



JOHN BUNYAN. 1 59 

ing slowly down one of the streets of that town he 
heard a few women talking about 4 ( the things of 
God, n and soon discovered that they had a knowl- 
edge and joy which he did not possess. From 
their conversation he was led to study the Scrip- 
tures with new earnestness, and to pray that God 
would enlighten his darkness. He had, however, 
many conflicts with Satan before he was enabled 
to rejoice in the light of the knowledge that Christ 
was his Saviour. The tempter suggested that he 
was not one of the elect, and that therefore it was 
impossible that he could be saved. But the words 
in Luke 14 : 22 saved him from despair. " i Yet 
there is room ' were sweet words to me, ! ' he said. 
4 ' I thought that by them I saw that there was 
place enough in heaven for me. ' ! 

But he experienced after this many troubles 
and trials, many lights and shadows; sometimes 
he rejoiced in God, and at other times mourned 
as one for ever shut out from his favor. Finally, 
Satan so followed him with the temptation to 
" sell Christ," as Judas had done, that he yielded 
so far as to say, " Let him go if he will." Then 
darkness surrounded him ; he thought he had 
committed the unpardonable sin. But the Spirit 
of God applied to his heart the declaration, " The 
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all 
sin," and again peace and joy filled his heart. 



160 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

In 1653 he was baptized by Rev. Mr. Gifford, 
the Baptist minister at Bedford, the "Evange- 
list" of the "Pilgrim," to whom, as well as to 
Luther's Commentary on the Galatians, Bunyan 
was greatly indebted for instruction. Two or 
three years later, at the urgent request of mem- 
bers of the Baptist congregation, he began to ex- 
hort, at first with great diffidence, and privately 
in small assemblies, but afterwards with more 
courage and publicity, as he became convinced 
that God was helping him and blessing his min- 
istrations. He was, ere long, solemnly commis- 
sioned to preach, and, while still working at his 
trade, itinerated as an evangelist in the villages 
about Bedford, multitudes flocking to hear him. 
But after preaching about five years, he was ar- 
rested in November, 1660, for holding unlawful 
meetings, and not conforming to the usages of the 
Episcopal Church, which, with the restoration of 
Charles II. , had again become the established 
church of England. To use his own words, Bun- 
yan was taken "home to prison" because he 
would not cease telling lost men the way of sal- 
vation through a crucified Redeemer. 

Previous to this his first wife had died, leav- 
ing him four children, one of whom was blind. 
He was now married again to an excellent wo- 
man, who made strenuous efforts to secure his 



JOHN BUNYAN. 161 

release from prison, but in vain. One of his 
greatest sorrows, previous to his imprisonment 
(for he had expected arrest for some time), was 
the anticipation of leaving his wife and poor chil- 
dren to the mercy of a cold world. The realiza- 
tion of this dread was the source of keen suffering 
to him while imprisoned. ' i I have, ' ' he wrote, 
" found myself a man encompassed with infirmi- 
ties; the parting with my wife and poor children 
hath often been to me in this place as pulling the 
flesh from the bones ; and that not only because I am 
somewhat too fond of these great mercies, but also 
because I would have often brought to my mind 
the many hardships, miseries, and wants that my 
poor family would be like to meet with should I be 
taken from them, especially my poor blind child, 
who lay nearer to my heart than all besides. Oh, 
the thought of the hardships my poor blind one 
might undergo would break my heart to pieces. ' ' 
But in such a time he remembered the promise, 
"Leave thy fatherless children; I will preserve 
them alive ; and let thy widows trust in me. ' ' 
And so, in spite of all his fears, he witnessed a 
good confession for his Master, and patiently bore 
the long years of his imprisonment in Bedford jail. 
Here his blind daughter was often permitted to 
visit him, and to carry home to her mother the 
tagged stay-laces at which he had been working. 

Heinet. 2 I 



1 62 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

An anonymous writer describes the scene in 
simple verse so tenderly that we cannot help quo- 
ting it: 

" Now go, my child ; the parting hour 
Is all too swiftly come ; 
The quiet evening closes in, 
And thou must hasten home. 

" Ay, now the darkness and the light 
Are not alike to thee ; 
The darkness steals thee from thy rest 
Against thy father's knee. 

" And when the first star twinkles through 
My prison bars from high, 
We kneel upon the cold stone floor, 
My little child and I. 

u And with thy dear hands clasped in mine, 
So tiny and so fair, 
With prison walls around us both, 
I hear thy evening prayer. 

" Now it is ended, and the star 
Warns me to say farewell ; 
I may not keep thee longer here 
Within my lonely cell. 

" And thou must carry home the work 
Thy father's hand hath wrought ; 
Each thread I wove grew beautiful 
With some home-pictured thought. 

" Child, pass thy little hand across 
Thy mother's brow to-night, 
And tell me if the lines grow deep, 
Or tears bedim her sight ; 



JOHN B UNYA N. 1 63 

* And notice if her voice be sad, 
And if her steps be slow ; 
Although their soft, low echoings 
Are cheery here below. 

" Child, thou hast made my prison-house 
So bright for many an hour ! 
Now haste thee to thy mother's arms, 
My little prison flower ! 

" For she is watching for thee, dear ; 
I see her standing there ; 
The ruddy glow of firelight 
Gleams on my empty chair. 

" And I shall meet you all to-night 

Before God's mercy-seat ; 
When, kneeling midst her little ones, \ 
She prays at Jesus' feet. 

" I would that I could join you all, 

As sinks the setting sun, 
To pray as we were wont to do ; 
But God's good will be done ! 

" Oh, when the light of heaven shall bi 

My Mary, on thy sight ; 
And, hand in hand, we wander on 
In rapturous delight, 

" How sweet and fond the memory 

Of these long hours will be, 
Which I have spent in prison-cell, 
My darling child, with thee ! 

" Thou wilt remember all the gloom 
Of this long, darksome night, 
Only to make thy Saviour's home 
More gloriously bright. 



1 64 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

" For each dark hour, my Mary, here, 

That God to thee hath given, 
Are treasured up bright ages there, 
Thy heritage in heaven. 

" But, hark ! I hear the gaoler's step ; 
Yon star is growing bright ; 
God bless thee, and thou shalt be blessed ! 
Good night, my child, good night !" 

But the tagging of corset-laces was not all his 
work. He formed a little congregation from the 
inmates of his prison, studied his Bible and Fox's 
4 4 Book of Martyrs, ' ' and wrote evangelistic and 
controversial tracts. It was during these twelve 
years of imprisonment that he produced the first 
part of his immortal book, " The Pilgrim's Prog- 
ress," a work which led X,ord Macaulay to class 
him side by side with Milton, as the second of the 
two great imaginative writers of the seventeenth 
century. During the last four years of his deten- 
tion he enjoyed a great deal of liberty, being 
allowed to attend the Baptist meetings, and even, 
in the last year, to officiate as pastor of the con- 
gregation, indulgences due to the respect and 
pity which he had won by his character and suf- 
ferings. 

In 1672 the Declaration of Indulgence, sus- 
pending all penal laws against Nonconformists — 
a measure by which Charles II. hoped to advance 
towards his secret aim of reestablishing Catholi- 



JOHN B UNYA A r . 1 65 

cism in England — opened many prison doors, and 
allowed Bnnyan and others to go free. And now, 
for some sixteen years, apparently without let or 
hindrance other than is usual in the work of the 
ministry, he engaged with zeal in this, to him, 
blessed work. On his yearly visit to London, 
thousands crowded to hear him tell of the wisdom 
and necessity of leaving the city of destruction 
and travelling to the celestial city. His pen w r as 
also busy, and his " Grace Abounding," " Jeru- 
salem Sinner Saved," and other works, still 
point sinners to the cross, that they may lose their 
burden, and with joyful heart pass on their jour- 
ney heavenward; while his " Heavenly Foot- 
man ' ' and his i ' Holy War ' ' show what God- 
given wisdom, earnestness, and strength are need- 
ful for the winning of the Christian race and war- 
fare. 

Finally, after accomplishing a labor of love-^- 
the reconciliation of a father and son — Bunyan 
was seized with a fever at a friend's house in 
London, and after an illness of ten days died on 
the 31st of August, 1688, less than three months 
before William of Orange landed in England. 
He was buried in Bunhill Fields, London, where 
his dust awaits the coming of the Divine Re- 
deemer to raise it in honor and glory. 



1 66 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



BERNARD PALISSY. 

Towards the close of the sixteenth century 
King Henry III. visited, in a prison of his capi- 
tal, a noble old man, of whose life and discover- 
ies France to-day is proud, and urged him to ab- 
jure his religion, that his life might be saved. 
He said, " I am compelled to deliver you into the 
hands of your enemies, and to-morrow you will be 
burned unless you are converted. ! ' But Palissy, 
then nearly eighty years of age, nobly replied, ( 4 1 
am ready to give up the remainder of my life for 
the honor of God; you have told me several times 
that you pity me, and now, in my turn, I pity 
you who have used the words, ( I am compelled. % 
It is not spoken like a king, sire; and they are 
words which neither you, nor the Guises, nor the 
people, can ever make me utter. / can die." 
Noble words from the lips of the old Huguenot, 
Palissy the potter. 

What inspired him with such heroism ? How 
did he come to be in prison and to be visited by a 
king ? We shall see. 

Bernard Palissy was born at La Chapelle Bi- 
ron, near Agen, in 1510, just ten years before 
Luther burned the pope's bull at Wittenberg, and 



BERNARD PA USSY. 167 

some sixty-two years before the massacre of St. 
Bartholomew; accordingly, by the time Palissy 
became of age and had finished his apprentice- 
ship to the business of glazing, the country was 
ablaze with discussions on questions of religion. 
In 1539, when he was twenty -nine years of age, 
it was made a crime, punishable with death, in 
France, to read the Bible. But even such an 
edict had no controlling effect upon a mind so 
independent and inquiring as was his. 

At the completion of his apprenticeship he 
undertook a journey through the country adjacent 
to the Pyrenees, and through the provinces of the 
lower Rhine, sustaining himself by engaging in 
his trade and painting on glass. In his journey- 
ing he met many warm adherents of the reformed 
faith, learned to read the newly-printed Bible, 
and, better still, to love its precepts; and, on his 
return to Saintes, he commenced the work of an 
exhorter, in accordance with the good example, 
counsel, and doctrine of the worthy Philibert 
Hamelin, a noble laborer, who was afterwards 
condemned as a heretic, and put to death at Bor- 
deaux. Following his example, Palissy associa- 
ted with himself some six others, and alternately 
they read and expounded the Scriptures to as 
many as they could .assemble from Sabbath to 
Sabbath, in their private meetings, for they dared 



1 6S HEROES A ND HEROINES. 

not meet openly. In these meetings Palissy was 
much comforted and encouraged, and prepared 
for his patient labor during the week. 

At that period he specially needed encourage- 
ment. Some years previously, having seen a 
beautiful enamelled cup of Italian manufacture, 
he was seized with a desire to obtain the secret of 
the art. At great cost of time and labor, amid 
the jeers and scoffs of his neighbors, and, worse 
still, the reproaches of his wife and children, he 
patiently experimented, until, after sixteen years 
of persevering toil, the secret was obtained. These 
years were years of poverty, sorrow, and distress 
for himself and his family, and he needed the 
comforts of religion to sustain him until his tri- 
umph came, and earthly glory and wealth were 
showered upon him. After his success he re- 
moved to Paris, and was honored with the friend- 
ship of nobles and princes. But while he was 
struggling for his secret, he sought the consola- 
tions which he needed in communion with his 
Saviour; nor was he content to enjoy these bless- 
ings for himself: he sought to bring others to a 
knowledge of the same soul-sustaining and saving 
truths, and so he formed the first Reformed church 
of Saintes. Few and despised were its members 
at the first, and rumor charged them with all 
kinds of wickedness; but their upright lives at 



BERNARD PALISSY. 169 

length impressed their neighbors, and Catholics 
soon began to say to their priests, "See these 
ministers of the new religion ; they make prayers, 
they lead a holy life; why cannot you do the 
like?" and the result was that more began to 
favor and practise the precepts of Protestantism. 
Palissy, years after, described the advance of the 
Reformed faith as follows: 

"In those days might be seen, on Sundays, 
bands of work-people walking abroad in the 
meadows, the groves, and the fields, singing 
psalms and spiritual songs, or reading to and 
instructing one another. There might also be 
seen girls and maidens, seated in groups in the 
gardens and pleasant places, singing songs on 
sacred themes ; or boys, accompanied by their 
teachers, the effects of whose instruction had 
already been so salutary that these young peo- 
ple not only exhibited a manly bearing, but a 
manful steadfastness of conduct. Indeed, these 
various influences, working one with another, 
had already effected so much good, that not only 
had the habits and modes of life of the people 
been reformed, but their very countenances them- 
selves seemed to be changed and improved." 

But the new religion, as it was called, was 
making similar progress in other portions of 
France, and the leaders of the Romish church 

Hcroei. 2 2 



170 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

took the alarm. Pope Pius IV., aided by Philip 
II. of Spain, urged the French authorities to in- 
terfere, to stay the progress of that gospel which 
was leading men to trust in the L,ord Jesus Christ, 
and lead holy lives. The gospel faith was here- 
sy, its adversaries declared; it would destroy both 
the church and the state. 

Accordingly, in 1559, a royal edict was pub- 
lished by Henry II., declaring the crime of her- 
esy punishable by death, and forbidding the 
judges to remit or mitigate the penalty. For a 
time Palissy concealed himself, in the hope that 
the storm of wrath would soon pass over; but 
he was too prominent a man, and too heartily 
devoted to the cause of the Reformation, to es- 
cape for any length of time. He was finally 
apprehended, and hurried by night to Bordeaux, 
to be tried for the crime of heresy, as his teacher 
Hamelin had been. No doubt he, too, would 
have been condemned and burned, if he had not 
been needed by the Catholic party. But the 
Duke of Montmorency was in urgent want of en- 
amelled tiles for his castle-floor, and Palissy was 
the only man in France capable of producing 
them. The skill that God had given him, and 
that he had improved by faithful labor, was the 
cause of his .deliverance. It was also the means 
of his advancement to the favor of the cunning 



BERNARD PALISSY. 171 

and unprincipled Catherine de' Medici, wife of 
Henry II. , and mother of the three succeeding 
kings of France, Francis II. , Charles IX., and 
Henry III. 

Palissy was appointed "maker of the king's 
rustic potteries,' ' and a residence in the Tuiler- 
ies was assigned to him. In the dreadful massa- 
cre of St. Bartholomew's day, in 1572, Catherine 
protected him from the fate which overwhelmed 
so many Protestants. 

But neither royal favors nor royal frowns could 
shake Palissy' s devotion to his religion, or lead 
him to dissemble. Christ and his Word had 
sustained him in the days of adversity, and he 
adhered to them in his prosperity. 

Such was his faithfulness that he was, after a 
while, again apprehended, and thrown into the 
Bastile, where, as we have already said, he was 
visited by Henry III. , to whom he boldly declared 
that, though he could not give up his religion, 
he "knew how to die." He was not, however, 
burned, but allowed to remain in his cell until, 
in 1589, death came to his release. Thus one of 
France's noblest martyrs witnessed for the truths 
of Christianity. 



172 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



HENRY MARTYN. 

In the year 1809, in Cawnpore, India, now- 
celebrated as the place where so many English 
residents and missionaries were massacred at the 
beginning of the Sepoy rebellion of 1857, a noble 
missionary, one of more than ordinary gifts and 
graces, one who had obtained at the close of his 
college course the honor of senior wrangler at 
Cambridge, England, wrote a letter, of which the 
following is an extract: " What is there now that 
I should wish to live for? Oh, what a barren 
desert, what a howling wilderness does this world 
appear ! But for the service of God in his church 
and the preparation of my own soul, I do not 
know that I should wish to live another day." 

This missionary had just received intelligence 
from England of the death of a beloved sister, a 
sister who had been the means of leading him to 
Christ, and, as a consequence, one means of se- 
curing him for the mission work of India. 

Henry Martyn was born in Truro, in the 
county of Cornwall, England, in February, 1 781, 
over a hundred years ago. He entered the gram- 
mar-school of the town in his seventh year, and, 
notwithstanding his feeble constitution, "his pro- 



HENR Y MA RTYN. 1 73 

ficiency in the classics exceeded that of most of 
his schoolfellows. n His father had struggled 
hard to procure an education for himself, and he 
determined to aid his son in obtaining one. Ac- 
cordingly, Henry was sent to St. John's College, 
Cambridge, in October, 1797. While there, the 
sister to whom we have already alluded exerted a 
happy influence over him, both by her letters and 
her conversation at home during his vacations. 
Referring afterwards to one of these conversa- 
tions, he said, 

u I do not remember a time in which the 
wickedness of my heart rose to a greater height 
than during my stay at home; the consummate 
selfishness and exquisite irritability of my mind 
were displayed in rage, malice, and envy, in pride 
and vainglory, and in contempt of all ; in the 
harshest language to my sister, and even to my 
father, if he happened to differ from my mind and 
will.*" 

But by-and-by that loving father was called 
home ; and then what anguish filled the selfish 
heart of the son ! The event was made, however, 
the means of leading him to consider the claims 
of the religion of Christ; and soon after he wrote 
to his sister that new light had dawned upon his 
mind. His words are, "I began to attend more 
diligently to the words of our Saviour in the New 



174 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

Testament, and to devour them with delight, etc. 
I have only to ^express my acquiescence in most 
of' your opinions, and to join with you in grati-. 
tude to God for his mercies to us. May he pre- 
serve you and me, and all of us, to the day of the 
Lord." 

His course at Cambridge was now near its 
close, and he was preparing with much earnest- 
ness for the final contest; but he could now cast 
his cares- on his unseen Friend, and doing so was 
all the better prepared for his examination. He 
experienced the truth of the declaration, ' ' Thou 
wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is 
stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. ' ' He 
was successful in passing his examinations, and 
obtained the highest honor, that of ' ' senior wran- 
gler. ' ! But he soon after wrote, c c I obtained my 
highest wishes, but was surprised to find that I 
had grasped a shadow." Most true it is that nei- 
ther the world's wealth nor its honor can supply 
the cravings of an immortal soul. 

He returned to Cambridge again to pursue 
studies with reference to a fellowship, which he 
succeeded in obtaining in 1802. During this pe- 
riod the Rev. Mr. Simeon became very much in- 
terested in him, and, aided by intercourse with 
him and other Christian friends, Martyn made 
great progress in the divine life, and soon could 



HENR Y MARTYN. 1 7$ 

write to his sister, " Blessed be God, I have now 
experienced that Christ is the power of God and 
the wisdom of God. What a blessing is the gos- 
pel ! No heart can conceive its excellency but 
that which has been renewed by divine grace. ' ' 
With these new experiences he became a faith- 
ful witness for Christ. He was never afraid or 
ashamed to rebuke flagrant sin ; and in one case 
mentioned in the letter last quoted from, his re- 
monstrance was, by the blessing of God, so effect- 
ual that the student rebuked afterwards became a 
bosom friend and a companion in the mission- 
work in India. 

In the same year in which Martyn's fellow- 
ship was obtained, Mr. Simeon, to whom he was 
now greatly attached, made some remarks on the 
benefits that had resulted from the services of a 
single missionary; and the views which he pre- 
sented induced Martyn to devote himself to the 
missionary cause. Accordingly, he applied to the 
society in London for an appointment "to any 
part of the world whither it might be convenient 
to send him. ' ' 

In a journal, which he kept at this period, 
many interesting entries are found, showing his 
growth in Christian knowledge and grace. Of 
these the following is a specimen: "I read He- 
brew, and the Greek of the Epistle to the He- 



176 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

brews. This epistle is not only not uninterest- 
ing, as it formerly was, but it is now the sweetest 
portion of the Holy Scriptures I know: mostly, I 
suppose, because I can look up to Jesus as my 
High Priest, though I may very often doubt 
whether I am interested in him. Yet, oh, how 
free is his love to the chief of sinners ! How 
many of my days are lost if their worth is to be 
measured by the standard of prevailing heavenly- 
mindedness ! I want above all things a willing- 
ness to be despised. What but the humbling in- 
fluence of the Spirit, showing me my vileness and 
desperate wickedness, can ever produce such an 
habitual temper !" 

Mr. Martyn w T as ordained a deacon of the 
Church of England October 22, 1803, and began 
his ministerial work as curate to Mr. Simeon. He 
also took charge of the small parish of Lolworth, 
a few miles distant from Cambridge. His pur- 
pose was to labor in these fields until the Board 
at London should deem it proper to send him 
away as a missionary. In consequence of his su- 
perior scholarship, he was several times appointed 
to the honorable office of examiner in his college, 
and discharged it with much acceptance. Had 
he chosen to remain in England, honor and wealth 
were, humanly speaking, within his grasp; but 
he had already testified, when he obtained the 



HENR V MARTYJV. 177 

senior wranglership, that such things did not sat- 
isfy the cravings of his soul. 

At length Mr. Martyn received an appoint- 
ment as chaplain to the East India Company, and 
began making preparations to leave his native 
land. He visited his old home in Cornwall, and 
preached. Crowds gathered to hear him, inclu- 
ding his two sisters, the younger of whom we 
have already spoken of as a noble Christian wo- 
man ; the other was as yet ignorant of Christ as 
her Saviour, but seemed to be greatly impressed 
with the preaching of her brother; and finally, 
before her death, she gave evidence that she loved 
and trusted the Saviour whom he so lovingly 
commended. 

Mr. Martyn, having attained his twenty-fourth 
year, was ordained a presbyter in March, 1805, in 
St. James' Chapel, London. On the 3d of April 
he preached his farewell sermon ' ' in the dear 
abode of his youth, " where he had been so great- 
ly loved and honored, and then took his departure 
for London, ready to embark on what was then 
considered a journey of danger, if not of death. 
Hence he wrote in his journal, June n, "Shed 
tears to-night at the thought of my^ departure. I 
thought of the rolling seas which would soon be 
between me and all that is dear to me upon 
earth." He was going forth to preach to the 

Heroes. o 'X 



173 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

heathen, not only "not knowing the things 
which should befall him," but with the settled 
determination never to return to England, but to 
die in the field of his labor, for Christ's sake. 

On the 17th of July, 1805, the vessel in which 
he was to proceed to India sailed from Ports- 
mouth, and, after many delays and stoppages by 
the way, he arrived at Madras April 22, 1806. 
Soon after he reached Calcutta, where he wrote, 
"My long and wearisome journey is concluded, 
and I have at last arrived in the country in which 
I am to spend my days in the work of the L,ord. 
Scarcely can I believe myself to be so happy as to 
be actually in India; yet this hath God wrought." 
At Aldeen, near Calcutta, the residence of Rev. 
David Brown, Mr. Martyn was received with 
affectionate kindness. He at once began the 
study of the Hindostanee language, and at the 
same time was assiduous in preaching the gospel 
to his own countrymen. 

On the 13th of September following he re- 
ceived his appointment to Dinapore. On his ar- 
rival there he began to establish native schools, 
to translate the Scriptures, and to endeavor to 
obtain such a knowledge of the language as would 
enable him to preach the gospel fluently in it. 
He found, as every missionary will, many unex- 
pected obstacles in the way of prosecuting his 



HENR Y MA R TYN. 1 79 

work; and not the least among them was the god- 
less character of resident Europeans, whom the 
natives regarded as Christians. But he labored 
on, occasionally encouraged by hopeful signs, and 
at other times crying out, "Who hath believed 
our report ? and to whom is the arm of the Lord 
revealed?" 

At length, in March, 1808, his translation of 
the New Testament into Hindostanee was com- 
pleted, a work which still preaches the gospel, 
though Mr. Martyn was long ago transferred from 
the service of earth to that of heaven. Soon after 
this translation was finished he removed from 
Dinapore to Cawnpore, where he engaged in work 
similar to that already performed, and where he 
received the news of his sister's death, which oc- 
casioned the writing of the letter quoted from at 
the opening of this sketch. His older sister had 
died a year earlier. 

At the close of the year 1809 he writes: " Ten 
years have elapsed since I was first called of God 
to the fellowship of the gospel, and ten times 
greater than ever ought to be my gratitude to the 
tender mercy of my God for all that he has done 
for me. The ways of wisdom appear more sweet 
and reasonable than ever, and the world more in- 
sipid and vexatious. The chief thing I have to 
mourn over is my want of power and fervor in 



180 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

secret prayer, especially when attempting to plead 
for the heathen. ' ' 

At Cawnpore he prosecuted the work of trans- 
lating the New Testament into Arabic, and also 
into Persian. It was found, however, that the 
Persian translation was not as good as was desi- 
rable; and this circumstance led Mr. Marty n to 
undertake a journey to Persia, to secure such a 
knowledge of the language as should enable him 
to prepare a version suitable for the people of that 
country. Accordingly, u on the 7th of January, 
181 1, after having preached a sermon on the an- 
niversary of the Calcutta Bible Society," and after 
having addressed the inhabitants of Calcutta for 
the last time, from the text, "But one thing is 
needful, " he departed for ever from the shores of 
India, where he had expected to end his days. 
But though he lived in that land for only a few 
years, he set in motion influences which will ever 
flow on to bless her inhabitants. 

Mr. Martyn set out for Shiran, Persia, January 
7, and arrived at that celebrated seat of Persian 
literature June 9. A much shorter time would 
now suffice for the journey, but it must be remem- 
bered that we are speaking of over half a century 
ago. By the 24th of February of the following 
year (181 2) Mr. Martyn had completed the Persian 
New Testament. He finished a version of the 



HEXR Y MA R TYN. 1 8 1 

Psalms a few weeks after. During this time he 
had also been much engaged in disputes with in- 
fidels and with the Mohammedans around him; 
and he had conducted his share of the discussions 
with such good-humor and acuteness that his op- 
ponents, in spite of their bigotry, confessed their 
love for him, and testified to the great ability with 
which he defended Christianity. It is believed 
that he was then permitted to sow seed which was 
afterwards to bring forth fruit to the glory of God. 
But his health failed, and with the conscious- 
ness that his work was nearly done he turned his 
face homeward, intending to pass through Constan- 
tinople. He reached Tocat, in Asia Minor, and 
died, as was supposed, from the plague, which was 
then raging and depopulating the cities around. 
On the 16th of October, 1812, in the thirty-second 
year of his age, this faithful laborer breathed his 
last. His career was short, but he accomplished 
a great work, and made the work of other mis- 
sionaries by so much the easier. God had endowed 
him with great talents, and he laid them all at the 
feet of the Master. It was said of him, " He al- 
ways lived so that he could pray;" and thus he 
could and did bring down power from above to 
help him and others in the work of the Lord. 



1 82 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



ADONIRAM JUDSON. 

More than seventy years ago a young man, 
who had lately graduated with the highest honors 
at Brown University, left his father's house at 
Plymouth, Mass., to make a tour through some 
of the States on horseback. He was the dearly- 
beloved son of godly parents, who hoped, and, no 
doubt, frequently prayed, that the God in whom 
they trusted would be pleased to use their child 
as an instrument in building up the divine c^use 
and kingdom in this world. They were, there- 
fore, exceedingly troubled by the young man's 
open declaration, previous to leaving on his trip, 
that he did not believe the. Bible which they rev- 
erenced so much — it was a u lot of old wives' 
fables." It was a sad parting, for these loving 
parents did not know that this journey was only 
a step in the preparation of their son to be one of 
the heroes of the church in the work of foreign 
missions. Those who are forgiven much love 
much, and this undutiful, proud, wayward son 
was soon to be brought a penitent to the feet of 
the Saviour; then, pardon having been obtained, 
he was, with loving and devoted heart, to tell 




.graved by J.C J 



(L^^O-7-t^ 



S l^O-<?Oc7 Oni^ 



A DON/RAM JUDSON. 183 

many perishing ones of the Saviour who had 
found him, and saved him by His grace. 

By-and-by, in pursuing his journey, he reached 
a country tavern not far from Sheffield, N. Y., 
and obtained lodging for the night. The land- 
lord apologized for placing him in a room next to 
one occupied by a young man supposed to be 
dying. He assured the landlord that it was a 
matter of no moment to him; but notwithstand- 
ing his bold assertions — his whistling to keep his 
courage up — he could not sleep; the sounds from 
the dying-bed fell upon his ear, and recalled the 
old teachings of his childhood. He thought of 
the preparation necessary for dying. He ques- 
tioned, " What if there is a heaven and a hell? 
What if my mother's Bible is true? Suppose I 
were dying, how should I feel? n And then, to 
banish these unwelcome thoughts, he thought of 

his special friend at the university, E , the 

leader of their infidel club; what would he think 
of such weakness as had just seized his mind? 
Ah, he did not then know what the coming morn- 
ing revealed, that the dying youth, so hopeless 

and helpless, was just that very E , and that 

his boasted reason and philosophy had done noth- 
ing for him in his dread encounter with the king 
of terrors. 

Oppressed with the thought that his friend 



1 84 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

was not only dead, but lost, the traveller deter- 
mined, like the prodigal, to " arise and go to his 
father. ' ' The pride of philosophy was now gone ; 
he wanted a mother's prayers and a father's coun- 
sel, and, above all, a Saviour's pardon. So he 
turned his horse's head to Plymouth again; and 
in the month of May, 1809, Adoniram Judson pro- 
fessed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as his 
Saviour, by uniting with the Third Congrega- 
tional Church of Plymouth, of which his father 
was then pastor; and within less than a year after- 
wards he determined to go to the heathen to tell 
the story of divine grace. 

Without a pang he turned away from all his 
ambitious plans, and determined to become a 
minister of the gospel of the grace of God. He 
continued his studies in Andover Theological 
Seminary, which he had entered soon after his 
return from New York; and there he met Nott 
and Newell, and after a while Gordon Hall and 
Mills. In different colleges God's Spirit had been 
moving the hearts of these young men, and in- 
clining them to devote themselves to the noble 
work of carrying the gospel to the ends of the 
earth; and now, when they met together in the 
same seminary, Christian intercourse with one 
another kindled the seal of each into a flame. 

The work of foreign missions had as yet re- 



A DON/RAM JUDSON. 185 

ceived little attention in America. Mr. Judson, 
therefore, wrote to England, to the venerable Dr. 
Bogue, to ascertain if he and his friends could be 
employed as missionaries by the London Mission- 
ary Society. But God's Spirit was stirring up an 
interest in the cause of foreign missions in the 
hearts of pastors and people here at home, as well 
as of students. Accordingly, Drs. Spring and 
Worcester, on their way to the General Congre- 
gational Association in session at Bradford, June 
26, 1810, began to talk concerning the matter, 
and made the first suggestion towards forming 
? 4 the American Board of Commissioners for For- 
eign Missions." 

Messrs. Judson, Nott, Mills, and Newell pre- 
sented to this same association a paper asking 
" advice, direction, and prayer" with reference 
to the work. The result of this appeal and of the 
suggestion before referred to was the noble insti- 
tution which we have already named, which has 
done, and is still doing, so much to bring heathen 
nations under the sway of King Immanuel. 

The money necessary to send out missionaries 
not being forthcoming at once, Mr. Judson, by 
advice of the prudential committee, sailed for 
England in 181 1, to confer with the board of the 
London Missionary Society concerning the mat- 
ter. At this period England and France were at 

Keroo.s. 2-1 ' 



i'86 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

war; the vessel in which Judson sailed was cap- 
tured by a French privateer, and he was thrust 
with others into a dismal underground dungeon 
at Bayonne. Thus early was he inured to the 
terrible sufferings to which he would by-and-by 
be called in the work of his Master. He soon, 
however, reached his destination. His underta- 
king was successful to a certain degree, and be- 
came the means of stirring up the zeal of the 
friends of missions at home, so that at the next 
meeting of the American Board Messrs. Judson, 
Nott, Newell, and Hall were appointed mission- 
aries to the Burman Empire, under the direction 
of the Prudential Committee, and on February 
19, 181 2, they embarked for India. 

A few days previous to this, Mr. Judson mar- 
ried one of the noblest of American women, Ann 
Hasseltine, one who, by her heroic services, did 
almost as much as her husband to lay the founda- 
tion of mission work in Burmah. On the 6th of 
the same month a missionary meeting was held 
in Salem, Mass., for the service connected with 
the ordination and departure of the young mis- 
sionaries. It was a great day for the cause; a 
new impulse was given by it to mission work 
throughout the entire land. Dr. Spring's decla- 
ration, then made, was soon accepted everywhere 
as the very truth: " No enterprise comparable to 



A DON/RAM JUDSON. i $7 

this has been embraced by the American church; 
all others retire before it, like the stars before the 
rising sun. ' ' 

During the voyage to Calcutta, Mr. Judson 
examined the question of infant baptism, and 
adopted the theory of the Baptists, which made it 
necessary for him to resign his position as a mis- 
sionary of the American Board, and thus also 
made it necessary to labor in a different field from 
that of his beloved brethren who accompanied 
him. The sacrifice involved in such a step can- 
not be fully understood by us at the present day. 
Denominational lines have become so much less 
conspicuous that we can scarcely understand the 
question which Mrs. Judson asked in a letter then 
written to a dear friend: " Can you, my dear 
Nancy, still love me, still desire to hear from me, 
when I tell you I have become a Baptist ? n 

Another source of trouble opened before these 
young missionaries in the opposition of the East 
India Company. Scarcely ten days had elapsed 
after their arrival when they \vere ordered by the 
government to return to America in the ship 
which had brought them out. It was strange 
that that English company should be so afraid of 
missionaries as to exert all its power to prevent 
them from landing on the shores of India. But 
for the missionary and his work, England would 



iSS HEROES AND HEROINES. 

not to-day have so secure a foothold in India. 
Judson lived, however, to be protected and treat- 
ed like a prince by some of England's chief offi- 
cers, and no people now appreciate more fully 
than the English the value of missionary services, 
and their tendency to give stability to civil gov- 
ernment. But at that early period of darkness the 
missionary had to suffer; and, accordingly, Jud- 
son was driven from the country. I w T onder that 
some artist has not painted a picture of Messrs. 
Judson and Rice, together with Mrs. Judson, 
stealing at midnight through the streets of Cal- 
cutta, followed by coolies carrying their baggage, 
to reach a vessel in the dock about to sail for the 
Isle of France (Mauritius). 

Finally, in July, 1813, Mr. and Mrs. Judson 
reached Rangoon, then in the Burman empire, 
now included in the British Presidency of Bengal. 
Here Mr. Judson, ably assisted by his wife, labored 
and prayed and suffered, learned the language, 
translated portions of the New Testament, and 
finally preached. At last, five years after he be- 
gan his work, u the firstfruits of Christ's church 
in Burmah were gathered in the conversion of 
Moung Nau." But now the little one has be- 
come a thousand, and the small one almost a 
nation. His preparatory labor was not in vain. 
It was the sowing before the harvest of sheaves. 



A DO AIR A M JUDSON. 1 89 

111 1821 Mrs. Judson was compelled, by the 
loss of health, to return to America, and in her 
absence Mr. Judson busied himself in translating 
additional portions of the New Testament. Some 
months after her departure he was summoned, 
together with Dr. Price, a missionary physician, 
who had some time before joined the mission, and 
whose fame as a surgeon had reached to Ava, to 
appear before the emperor. The missionary and 
the surgeon were received with much kindness, 
and the prospect of accomplishing great things 
in Ava for the cause of Christ appeared bright 
indeed. 

Dr. Judson returned to Rangoon in the au- 
tumn of 1823, to meet Mrs. Judson on her return 
from America. On her arrival, with high expec- 
tations they left the mission under the care of fel- 
low-laborers who had from time to time been sent 
out to aid them in their work, and went up the 
Irrawaddy to Ava. 

Unfortunately, from our standpoint, but hap- 
pily, no doubt, from the standpoint of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, who rules the world, war broke out 
between England and Burmah; and Dr. Price and 
Dr. Judson were both imprisoned as spies, and 
were held as prisoners in filthy dungeons some 
seventeen months, being frequently confined in 
fetters, and treated like dogs. They were finally 



190 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

ordered to be executed; but the death of the prin- 
cipal officer on the very morning appointed for 
their execution saved their lives. 

Throughout this trying time Mrs. Judson dis- 
played a heroism that has never been excelled, in 
striving to secure the liberty of her husband, and 
ministering to his wants; and had it not been for 
her exertions he would never have lived through 
the ordeal of his imprisonment. And yet, during 
those terrible days of sorrow and suffering, she 
was called to endure the pains of maternity, fol- 
lowed some time after by fever, which rendered 
her unable to nourish her little infant; but she 
succeeded in bribing the jailer to allow Dr. Jud- 
son to leave the prison for a short time each day 
to carry the poor child around the city, to beg a 
little nourishment from those mothers who had 
young children. No milk could be obtained oth- 
erwise, and the cries of the poor child through 
the night, writes the suffering mother, were heart- 
rending. 

But by-and-by the end came, and Dr. Judson 
and his noble wife were received and treated, as 
we have already hinted, in princely style, by the 
English commander-in-chief, Sir Archibald Camp- 
bell, who also secured reparation for the property 
lost by them during the terrible months of perse- 
cution. The settlement of the war gave the Eng- 



ADONIRAM JUDSON. 191 

lish a large amount of territory, and a town at the 
mouth of the Salwen was selected as its capital, 
and named Amherst. 

Encouraged and invited by the authorities, 
Dr. Judson removed to Amherst to found a new 
mission. Before the work was fully commenced, 
he was induced to go to the Burman court with 
the British envoy for the purpose of settling gov- 
ernmental business, and with the hope of securing 
toleration in the future for the Christian religion. 
During his absence on this important business, 
Mrs. Judson was summoned to a higher court, the 
home of her Heavenly Father; and just six months 
later, in May, 1827, the messenger returned for 
little Maria, the baby of whom we have spoken. 

Desolate indeed did Amherst appear to 'Dr. 
Judson on his return; but he at once began his 
work of preaching, tract- writing, and translating; 
and in Prome, Rangoon, and Maulmain, he 
abounded in labors for the lost around him. 

In 1828 his attention was turned to the Karens, 
the rude inhabitants of the interior jungles and 
mountains. They received the gospel gladly, and 
within twenty-five years after they heard it first, 
the converts among them were estimated at twen- 
ty thousand. 

Dr. Judson soon became satisfied that but little 
progress could be made without the agency of the 



I9 2 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

press; accordingly, he published tracts, portions 
of Scripture, etc., and finally, in January, 1834, 
he completed the translation of the whole Bible. 
Such is the excellence of this translation that it 
is claimed that it will be in the future " the Bible 
of Burmah." 

In April, 1834, Dr. Judson married Mrs. Sarah 
H. Boardman, the widow of a missionary. This 
lady had been exceedingly active and useful in 
work among the Karens, instructing them in her 
school at Tavoy, and performing toilsome jour- 
neys to reach them in their mountain homes. As 
the wife of Dr. Judson, her labors consisted partly 
in the preparation of books in the Burmese and 
Peguan languages. Among other things, she 
translated the first part of "Pilgrim's Progress" 
into Burmese, and aided in the translation of the 
New Testament into Peguan. 

; In 1845 Mrs. Judson' s health had became so 
enfeebled that it was determined to visit America. 
The voyage was undertaken, but on the 1st of 
September she died at St. Helena, and was buried 
on that rocky isle, having labored as a missionary 
twenty-one years, just half the years of her life. 

In October, Dr. Judson arrived with his mo- 
therless children at Boston, and during his stay 
in the United States he did a valuable work for 
missions. But his heart was in Burmah, whither 



ADONIRAM JUDSON. 193 

he felt that he must hasten; Miss Emily Chub- 
buck, known by her literary productions under 
the nom de plume of ' 4 Fanny Forrester, ? ' was in- 
duced to accompany him as his wife. 

Accordingly he returned to Maulmain in the 
latter part of 1846. Here he finished a Burmese- 
English dictionary. Three years after his return 
he was attacked by a severe sickness, and, by ad- 
vice of friends, undertook a voyage to the Isle of 
France. His wife's health was at this time in 
such a condition that she could not accompany 
him. After the time of his sailing he sank rap- 
idly, and, on the 12th of April, 1850, in the sixty- 
second year of his age, he fell asleep in Jesus, and 
was buried in the sea, three days out of sight of 
the mountains of Burmah. His widow, writing 
to his sister, thus describes his burial ; we make 
the extract from "The Earnest Man," by Mrs. 
Conant, to which volume we are chiefly indebted 
for our sketch : 

"They lowered him to his ocean grave with- 
out a prayer. His freed spirit had soared above 
the reach of earthly intercession, and to the for- 
eigners who stood around it would have been a 
senseless form. And there they left him in his 
unquiet sepulchre ; but it matters little, for w r e 
know that while the unconscious clay is drifting 
in 'the shifting currents of the restless main,' 

Heroes. 2 ^ 



194 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

nothing can disturb the hallowed rest of the im- 
mortal spirit. Neither could we have a more fit- 
ting monument than the blue waves which visit 
every coast, for his warm sympathies went forth 
to the ends of the earth, and included the whole 
family of man. It is all as God would have it, 
and our duty is to bend meekly to his will, and 
wait in faith and patience till we also shall be 
summoned home." 



JOHN NE WTON. 1 95 



JOHN NEWTON. 

Some time in the year 1806 a friend said to 
the parish minister of St. Mary's Woolnoth, Lon- 
don, in view of his extreme age and his many in- 
firmities, " Wonld it not be well to consider your 
work of preaching as done?" Instantly the 
preacher, who was over eighty years old, very 
deaf, and almost blind, replied, "What! shall 
the old African blasphemer stop while he can 
speak?" 

John Newton felt that he had been forgiven 
much, and therefore ought to labor much for Him 
who had made him a monument of his grace. 
Even then, when the voice of nature and friends 
combined to whisper, ' ' Your work of preaching 
is done," he felt, like the apostle Paul, " Woe is 
me if I preach not the gospel." He knew that 
the gospel had saved his soul, and that it could 
become to others ' c the wisdom and the power of 
God unto salvation. ' ' He is reported as leaning 
over his pulpit occasionally, and, with peculiar 
emphasis, saying, " I never doubted the power of 
God to save the heathen, since he saved me." 

But what a title to give to this aged minister, 
" The African Blasphemer," even if it came from 



1 96 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

his own lips ! We shall see, as we proceed with 
our sketch, how he came to deserve it. 

John Newton was born near London, in 1725; 
his father was a sea-captain, and John was left to 
the care of his mother, who was a devotedly pious 
woman, and took special pains to impress the 
truth on the mind of her son. Many years after 
she was taken home to her rest he wrote concern- 
ing her, ' ' Besides the pains my dear mother took 
with me, she often commended me with many 
prayers and tears to God, and I doubt not but I 
reap the fruit of these prayers to this hour." 

It was the purpose of Newton's mother to give 
him to God, and prepare him for the work of the 
ministry, but her life was spared to him only 
seven years, her valuable care and instruction be- 
ing lost to him in that period when he especially 
needed them. His father soon married again; 
but John was sent to a boarding-school, where 
his early religious impressions soon faded away, 
and he ceased to pray, and learned to curse and 
blaspheme. At the age of eleven years his father 
took him with him in his ship, which traded in 
the Mediterranean, and he continued with his fa- 
ther during five voyages. 

John's early impressions were for a time 
brought back by providential occurrences, such 
as falling from a horse and narrowly escaping 



JOHN NE W TON 1 97 

death; the drowning of a companion, with whom 
he had agreed to go on board a man-of-war, by 
the upsetting of the boat on which Newton would 
also have been had he not unexpectedly arrived a 
few minutes late ; but these impressions soon van- 
ished, as the accidents were forgotten. Yet in 
the midst of his wickedness he was still conscious 
of a need of God, which often compelled him to 
offer at least a formal prayer. Finally, an infidel 
publication fell into his hands, and its ungodly 
principles operated upon him, as he said, "like a 
slow poison, ! ' and were the occasion of much sor- 
row. 

A short time after this, when John w^as about 
seventeen, Captain Newton made an arrangement 
w r ith a friend to send him to Jamaica, on business 
which would occupy his attention some years. 
But before the ship was ready to sail his father 
despatched him with a message to a place in the 
neighborhood of Kent. On this visit he met at a 
friend's house a girl three years younger than him- 
self, for whom he immediately formed a strong 
and lasting attachment, and who finally became 
his wife and a valuable helper in the w^ork for 
which God was preparing him. In consequence 
of his love for this girl he remained in Kent three 
weeks, instead of three days, and on his return 
found that the ship had gone to Jamaica without 



198 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

him. Thus he lost his promised position and in- 
curred the displeasure of his father. He then 
went as a common sailor in a vessel to Venice, 
and, aided by the company with whom he asso- 
ciated, made great progress in his downward ca- 
reer. It was at this period that he had a remark- 
able dream, which he says did much to check him 
in wickedness. Who can tell but that it was an 
impression produced on his mind by the Holy 
Spirit? 

4 1 He thought, while walking his watch upon 
the deck of the ship, a person came to him and 
gave him a ring, with a charge to keep it faith- 
fully, assuring him that while he kept it he would 
be happy and prosperous, but if he lost it he would 
be in trouble and sorrow continually. He accept- 
ed it, feeling that there would be no trouble about 
its being kept by him in safety. A second person 
came, who, observing the ring on his finger, asked 
him concerning it, and was told of its virtues, 
when he laughed at the folly of believing such a 
statement, and asked him to throw it away. At 
last he yielded, took it from his finger, and dropped 
it over the ship's side into the water, when in an 
instant a terrible fire burst out from a range of 
mountains; at which his tempter mocked him, 
and told him that with that ring he had wilfully 
thrown away the mercy of God. He trembled in 



JOHN NE WTON. 1 99 

great agony, when a third person came to his aid 
and asked him if he would not act more wisely if 
the ring were again restored. ' I could, ' he says, 
4 hardly answer, for I thought it gone beyond con- 
trol. But this friend went down into the water 
and brought it back, the flames ceased, and the 
seducer fled. My helper, however, refused to give 
it to me, lest I should again lose it, but said he 
would keep it for me and produce it whenever it 
was needed. ' ' ' 

This dream, as we have said, produced a last- 
ing impression on his mind, and, for a time, 
checked him in his downward career. 

He was, some time after this, in his nineteenth 
year, captured by a press-gang and put on board 
a man-of-war, where his impulsive nature led him 
into many difficulties, and he meditated suicide; 
but his love for the girl already spoken of re- 
strained him, and encouraged him to hope for 
such a position in the future as might enable him 
to claim her hand. The severity with which he 
was treated in consequence of a desertion from the 
ship made it desirable for him to seek a change, 
as he could not now hope to be befriended by his 
present captain. He succeeded in exchanging 
into a vessel bound for Sierra Leone, a popular 
place for slave-traders. There he abandoned the 
vessel, and agreed tc labor on the Island of Bena- 



200 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

noes with a slave-trader. The black woman who 
acted as this man's wife treated Newton very op- 
pressively; and when he fell sick with a fever he 
was frequently at the point of death for want of 
food and water. Yet God preserved him through 
these troubles, and in his providence rescued him 
after fifteen months' exposure in this wretched 
place with more wretched people. It was here 
that he earned the epithet of the " African blas- 
phemer, ' \ and he says of himself, ' c I know not 
that I ever met so daring a blasphemer." 

But he was not beyond the power of divine 
grace, and on his way home to England, on board 
a ship whose captain his father had arranged with 
to bring him back, he found that " peace of God 
which passeth all understanding, ' ! and which he 
delighted to preach in after years. The ship was 
wrecked, and all on board were brought face to 
face with death. The danger tended to impress 
the value of a religious hope on his heart. Ac- 
cordingly, he said, on the ioth of March, 1748, 
while the ship was kept from sinking by the 
extraordinary exertion of the crew at the pumps, 
the Lord sent and delivered him out of deep 
waters, by the revelation to him of his love and 
grace. 

He arrived at Liverpool in May, 1748, but too 
late to see his father, who had been appointed 



JOHN NE WTON. 20 1 

governor of York Fort on the western shore of 
Hudson Bay, and had just started for the place, 
where in a few years he died. But God had pro- 
vided Newton another father in the owner of the 
vessel which brought him home. He soon after 
returned to Africa as mate on one of his benefac- 
tor's vessels. He revisited the scenes of his cap- 
tivity in Africa, and was again taken sick with 
fever, and led, when he felt his helplessness, to 
consecrate himself fully to God. He spent much 
of his time in studying the Latin language, and 
afterwards Greek and Hebrew. God was pre- 
paring him for his future work, though he knew 
it not. In 1750 he married Mary Catlett, the 
lady of whom we have already spoken, and for 
over forty years she was a loving, faithful help to 
him in all his work. He took three more voy- 
ages, as captain of a slave ship, without consci- 
entious scruples, he says, as to the lawfulness of 
the trade. Then, in the providence of God, he 
was led to abandon the sea. In this and many 
other periods of his history he found it true that 
"the lot is cast into the lap, but the whole dis- 
posing thereof is of the Lord." Frequently, in 
reviewing the way in which God had led him, 
he recalled the little incidents on which the 
course of his life turned, and had no hesitaton in 
saying, " Here is the hand of God." 

Heroes. 26 



202 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

In his late years he was accustomed to say that 
the way of man is not in himself, nor can he con- 
ceive what belongs to a single step. l l When I 
go to St. Mary's Woolnoth, it seems the same 
whether I turn down Lothbury or go through Old 
Jewry, but the going through one street and not 
another may produce an effect of lasting con- 
sequences. A man cut down my hammock in 
sport, but had he cut it down half an hour later, 
I would not have been here, as the exchange of 
the crew was then making. A man made a 
smoke on the seashore at the time a ship passed, 
which was thereby brought to, and afterwards 
brought me to England. ' ' 

His own and his father's friend obtained for 
him, in 1755, the position of tide-surveyor in the 
port of Liverpool. England w r as then being 
stirred by the religious movement inaugurated by 
Whitefield and the Wesley s. In this movement 
Newton was much interested, and exercised his 
gifts, as opportunity offered, in preaching the gos- 
pel. His friends urged him to seek ordination 
from one of the bishops. He applied to the arch- 
bishop of York, but his application was refused 
on the ground of irregularity. Six years later, in 
1764, he was presented to the curacy of Olney, in 
Buckinghamshire, and was ordained deacon by 
the bishop of Lincoln. He was ordained priest 



J OILY NEWTON. 203 

ill the following year, the fortieth of his age. 
Newton formed a warm friendship with Cowper, 
the poet, doubtless to the comfort and edification 
of both; and during his residence at Olney he 
published a volume of hymns, containing several 
from the pen of Cowper; the others were written 
by himself. Among the hymns of Newton are 
the familiar ones beginning — 

" Safely through another w-eek." 

'°T is a point I long to know." 

4 l Amazing grace ! how sweet the sound. ' ' 

I l How sweet the name of Jesus sounds. ' ' 

II Jesus, who knows full well," etc. 

It was during Newton's curacy at Olney that 
he met Scott, afterwards the well-known com- 
mentator, and was the principal means of leading 
him to the adoption of evangelical view r s. It was 
here also that he met that prince of givers, Mr. 
Thornton, and a friendship began between them 
which never ended. 

Mr. Thornton, after Mr. Newton had proved 
himself "a workman that needeth not to be 
ashamed" by sixteen years' labor at Olney, pre- 
sented him to the living of St. Mary's Woolnoth, 
London. His first sermon w r as preached in his 
new field, December 19, 1779, from the text, 
" Speaking the truth in love;" and he continued 
in this charge for twenty-eight years, exemplify- 



204 HERCES AND HEROINES. 

ing the text in his life. A young man from 
Scotland attended on Newton's ministry in Lon- 
don, and through his influence was educated at 
Cambridge, and prepared for his great work as 
the celebrated Dr. Buchanan, who did so much 
for missions in India, and whose book on that far- 
off land determined Judson to go there as a mis- 
sionary. Thus many waves of influence might 
be traced back to Newton's faithful, unselfish 
work for Christ. 

Of his numerous writings, his hymns and 
i ( Cardiphonia ' ' are best known in the United 
States. Very many sententious sayings are as- 
cribed to him, which will continue to be used 
as illustrations while Christianity is preached. 
Among these are the following: 

" If I could go to France and give every man 
in it a right and peaceable mind by my labor, I 
should have a statue; but to produce such an 
effect in the conversion of one soul would be a far 
greater achievement. " " Dr. Taylor of Norwich 
said to me, c Sir, I have collated every word in 
the Hebrew Scriptures seventeen times, and it is 
very strange if the doctrine of atonement which 
you hold should not have been found by me. ' I 
am not surprised at this. I once w r ent to light 
my candle with the extinguisher on it. Now 
prejudices from education, etc., form an extin- 



JOHN NE WTON. 205 

guisher. It is not enough that you bring the 
candle; you must remove the extinguisher. " 
4 c The heir of a great estate while a child thinks 
more of a few shillings in his pocket than of his 
inheritance; so a Christian is often more elated 
by some frame of heart than by his title to 
glory. ' ' 

From his writings we can easily infer that his 
sermons were full of matter calculated to edify 
Christians, and to lead sinners to feel the need of 
the offered Saviour. That such was his purpose 
is clear from the answer given to a minister who 
asked his opinion of a sermon that Newton heard 
him preach. The sermon was a learned, critical 
disquisition, abounding in nice distinctions. Mr. 
Newton replied to the inquirer, c ' When many of 
your congregation had travelled several miles for 
a meal, I think you should not have forgotten the 
important distinction which must ever exist be- 
tween meat and bones." 

Finally, he reached the end of his personal 
work on earth, trusting to the grace which had 
already made him so different from what he once 
was. "If it were not that the Lord is gracious, 
how could I dare stand before him? n was the ex- 
pression of his heart as he neared the end of his 
journey on earth. His only hope was in the 
death and righteousness of Christ, and in that 



2c6 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

hope he died, December 21, 1807, after having 
preached the gospel over forty years. He was 
buried in the vault of his church, where he had 
so long proclaimed salvation through the cruci- 
fied Redeemer. u His works still follow him," 
and declare that the grace that could thus tri- 
umph in the case of the "African blasphemer " 
can save the very vilest sinner. 



WILLIAM MILNE. 207 



WILLIAM MILNE. 

In the beginning of the present century might 
have been seen a shepherd lad sitting on the brow 
of a Scottish hill watching his flock, while he read 
from "The Cloud of Witnesses" of the faithful 
contending of the martyrs during the persecution 
under Charles L, and admired their patience, 
piety, and heroism. He sighed for the time 
when God would enable him to witness for his 
name; and that time came when he was far off 
in the " land of Sinim." He preached, pub- 
lished, taught, and died, that the millions of 
China might know the love and grace of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and thus be led to trust in his 
name. 

William Milne was born in the parish of Ken- 
nethmont, Aberdeenshire, in 1785. His father 
died when he was six years of age. But his fa- 
ther's place was nobly filled by a godly mother, 
who did what she could to give her son a common 
school education, and to teach him Willison's 
Mothers' Catechism, and the Assembly's Shorter 
Catechism, a thing considered indispensable to 
the education of the young in that period of Scot- 
tish history. But, though the lad had this intel- 



2o8 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

lectual knowledge of the doctrines of the Bible, 
he was a stranger to the power of divine grace. 
He afterwards wrote, ' i Religion was very griev- 
ous to me in those days, ' ! and "I far excelled my 
equals in profane swearing, and in other sins of a 
like nature." Yet the Holy Spirit occasionally 
made his power felt in the boy's heart. Milne 
records as follows an experience of this kind when 
he was about ten years old: 

"While travelling alone in the middle of the 
day, between two cornfields, the idea of the eter- 
nal punishment of sin in hell struck me with 
amazing force. My feeling on this occasion ex- 
actly corresponded to the language of the prophet, 
1 Who among us shall dwell with the devouring 
fire ? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting 
burnings ?' ' ' 

But even then he did not flee to the refuge set 
before him in the gospel. A few religious books 
falling in his way, he was led through their influ- 
ence to a reformation of life; but as yet he did not 
feel that he was a ruined sinner, and that if saved 
at all it must be by a divine Saviour. The Holy 
Spirit, however, did not leave him, and some 
years afterwards used the reading of Boston's 
"Fourfold State," a book then very popular in 
Scotland, as the means of convincing him of his 
lost and ruined condition as a sinner. Great was 



WILLIAM MILNE. 209 

the distress of his mind on his realization of this 
truth, and he earnestly prayed, as often as ten, 
and even fifteen times a day, that God would 
have mercy upon him. Finally, by means of a 
sermon of Boston's, and of one preached by the 
pastor of the church which he was in the habit of 
attending, his distress was removed. The latter 
sermon was on the text, "And that repentance 
and remission of sins should be preached in His 
name among all nations, beginning at Jerusa- 
lem." He was led to reason on this wise: "If 
pardon and salvation were offered without money 
and without price to those who had killed the 
Prince of life, and thereby committed the great- 
est possible crime, then surely that grace which 
could triumph over all their guilt, and so richly 
abound where sins of the highest aggravation once 
abounded, may be extended to me to pardon my 
sins and renew my nature, to heal and save my 
soul." 

Thus he was led to that Saviour who was not 
only able, but willing to save just such lost ones 
as himself. And following the suggestion in the 
text, "One shall say, I am the Lord's, and an- 
other shall call himself by the name of Jacob, ' ' 
etc., he sought a retired place among the hills, 
where he fed his sheep, and offered himself to God 
his Saviour "for his service, and to be ruled, 

Heroes. 2 7 



210 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

sanctified, and saved by him." Soon after lie 
sought to have his name enrolled among God's 
people, and connected himself with the congre- 
gation at Huntly, of which the Rev. G. Cowie 
was pastor. 

Now, having found the Saviour himself, like 
Andrew and Philip, he began the work of bring- 
ing others to Christ. He did not wait until he 
was commissioned as a missionary to the heathen ; 
but while yet a farm-servant in Scotland he taught 
in the Sabbath-school, established winter evening 
prayer-meetings in destitute places in the parish, 
and visited and prayed with the poor from house 
to house. Above all, he spent a large portion of 
his time in secret prayer. And thus he was being 
prepared for the more difficult work to which the 
Master was soon to call him. 

The congregation to which Milne belonged, 
under the teaching of its devoted pastor, was far 
in advance of congregations generally at that pe- 
riod as respects an interest in the heathen; their 
house of worship was known as " the missionary 
kirk," and the zeal of their faithful pastor 
brought upon his head much persecution. It was 
then thought presumption and an interference 
with God's plans concerning the heathen to send 
missionaries to preach to them the way of salva- 
tion. But Mr. Milne was soon known around 



WILLI A M MILNE. 2 1 r 

Huntly as a " mischieve, ' ' and when, in the course 
of time, a friend told him that his brother was 
thinking of going as a missionary to the hea- 
then — an undertaking then of far greater difficul- 
ty, and involving far greater sacrifices, than at 
the present time — the question at once suggested 
itself to the mind of Milne, 4 ' Can his obligations 
to the riches of redeeming grace be greater than 
mine, that he should desire thus to honor God, 
while I continue satisfied in a state of inglorious 
ease at home ?' ' 

Thus the thought which had impressed itself 
upon his heart while he was reading ' c The Cloud 
of Witnesses ' ' and missionary magazines on the 
braes, as he watched his sheep, was deepened, 
and the result was an application to the London 
missionary society to send him as a missionary. 
After a careful examination he was accepted, and 
sent to Gosport to engage in a course of study un- 
der the celebrated Dr. Bogus, previous to being 
assigned to a field of labor. On his way to Gos- 
port he spent a few days in Aberdeen, where he 
was introduced to the few friends of missions then 
in that city. Among them was a young lady 
specially interested in the work, who made him 
a present of some articles of clothing. The 
thought never entered the mind of either that the 
young lady would by-and-by become Mrs. Milne, 



212 HEROES AXD HEROINES. 

and be one of the most efficient lady missionaries 
in China; but so it was. God had chosen her for 
this work, and in due time would bring it to pass. 

Mr. Milne reached Gosport, and made such 
progress in his studies that in less than two years 
he was considered well qualified for the work of 
preaching the gospel to the heathen; and he was 
accordingly appointed an assistant to Dr. Morri- 
son in China. But though he had pursued his 
studies at Gosport with zeal and diligence, even 
there he did not neglect mission work; he often 
visited and preached to the soldiers in the garri- 
son, and wrote letters to his friends and acquaint- 
ances, being successful in leading one of them to 
follow his example and become a missionary. 

The time had now come for Mr. Milne to set 
out on his journey, which, however, he shrank 
from undertaking alone, being convinced that a 
wife would prove both a comfort and a help to 
him. Strangely enough, a Christian lady in Lon- 
don was the means of introducing him to Miss 
Cowie, of Aberdeen, the lady to whom we have 
already alluded. They were married, and em- 
barked for China, September 4, 1812, about seven 
weeks after his ordination to the work of the min- 
istry. After their arrival at Canton, Mr. Milne 
wrote his first impressions of China to Dr. Philip, 
of Aberdeen, as follows: 



WILLIAM MILNE. 213 

"This is a vast, benighted country; we stand 
on the borders of it like men on the bank of the 
vast sea; we see only a little, and dare venture in 
but an inch or two. The city of Canton is like 
the New Jerusalem only in one thing, that stran- 
gers are not permitted to enter. A few days ago 
I went to the top of a hill to view this land (I 
trust it is a land of promise); my thoughts were, 
u Oh, that God would give this land to the 
churches," etc. 

Mr. Milne began his study of the language 
of his mission-field with the same zeal that had 
characterized him at Gosport, and soon was able 
to read, translate, and even preach in that strange 
tongue. After Dr. Morrison had finished the 
translation of the New Testament into Chinese, 
it, with a few other small books and tracts, was 
printed, and Mr. Milne undertook a long journey, 
chiefly among the neighboring islands, to sell the 
books, and at the same time preach the gospel. 
He was also desirous of deciding on some place 
as a headquarters for the mission work, where 
schools could be opened without opposition. He 
at last fixed on Malacca; and thither Mr. and 
Mrs. Milne removed, and began to lay the foun- 
dations for making this the chief station for 
Chinese mission work. Here they began the 
work of supplying a Christian literature, and 



214 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

educating the children, hoping by-and-by to sup- 
ply native preachers for the mainland. Their 
school was opened August 15, 1815, with five 
scholars. 

Some ten days before this, the first number 
of a periodical in the Chinese language had been 
issued, and this, with the Scriptures and tracts, 
was, as opportunity offered, largely distributed 
all over China, Cochin China, Siam, and the 
Malayan Archipelago. Who can tell what a 
harvest may have been reaped from those first 
efforts ? 

In 1817 very convenient mission buildings 
were completed, including a printing-house and 
rooms for employes; and an additional periodi- 
cal in English was commenced. On November 
10, 1818, the foundation of the Anglo-Chinese 
college was laid, and during the year large prog- 
ress was made in translating the Old Testament 
into Chinese, the work being divided between 
Dr. Morrison and Mr. Milne. 

In the following March, Mr. Milne was sadly 
afflicted by the death of his wife, who had in 
many ways encouraged and helped him in the 
numerous labors he had undertaken. It was not 
long, however, that he was left to mourn over 
his own bereavement and that of his four mother- 
less children, for in the midst of his labors the 



WILLIAM MILNE. 2 1 5 

Master called for him, June 2, 1822. He had 
accomplished a great work for China, and now 
he enjoys the gracious reward which Christ has 
promised to his faithful servants. 

Few men have done more for the cause of 
Christ in so short a time, for he was a minister of 
the gospel less than twelve years; but when he 
came to die, as we learn from Philip's volume, 
entitled "Life and Opinions of Milne," he re- 
peatedly said "he had no hope of salvation but 
through the merits of Jesus." 



2i6 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



ROBERT POLLOCK. 

In the village of Barrhead, Scotland, in the 
house of the village cabinet-maker, some time in 
the year 1815, might have been seen standing by 
the bedside of his loved and loving, but now dy- 
ing sister, a young lad of seventeen summers, 
with thoughtful countenance and sympathetic 
heart. It was not the first time that he had been 
called to witness the contest with the king of 
terrors: some ten years previous to this, a loved 
brother of tender years had been taken from his 
side, and for a whole day nothings could dry the 
tears which his grief had produced; and now, we 
have no doubt, busy memory was bringing up 
before him images of the former sad parting, and 
suggesting thought concerning the unseen world, 
whose portals his sister was so near. 

The loved one passed away, and Robert Pol- 
lock, some years later, expressed his feelings at 
her loss in tenderest poetry. It was at the close 
of a period renowned in British history for some 
of the noblest poetical productions. The strains 
of Cowper, Coleridge, Crabbe, Campbell, Byron, 
and Burns were vibrating in the ears of the peo- 



ROBERT POLLOCK. 217 

pie, and it seemed like temerity in the extreme 
for a new poet to seek to win attention, unless 
possessed of extraordinary gifts. It is probable 
that Pollock little questioned what reception 
would be given him, but instinctively gave utter- 
ance to his love and sympathy in harmonions 
lines. Two years afterwards, when he projected 
and wrote * ' The Course of Time, ' ' he gave the 
lines suggested by his sister's death a place in the 
fifth book of the poem. 

We give the following extract. It not only 
shows how Christians can die, but holds up be- 
fore us some of the blessed hopes which sustain 
their souls as they pass through the shaded valley. 

" I do remember, and will ne'er forget, 
The dying eye ; that eye alone was bright, 
And brighter grew as nearer death approached : 
As I have seen the gentle little flower 
Look fairest in the silver beam which fell 
Reflected from the thunder cloud, that soon 
Came down, and o'er the desert scattered far 
And wide its loveliness. She made a sign 
To bring her babe. 'Twas brought, and by her placed. 
She looked upon its face — that neither smiled, 
Nor wept, nor knew who gazed upon 't — and laid 
Her hand upon its little breast and sought 
For it, with look that seemed to penetrate 
The heavens, unutterable blessings, such 
As God to dying parents only granted 
For infants left behind them in the world. 
* God keep my child !' we heard her say, and heard 
No more : the angel of the covenant 

Heroes. 2<5 



218 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

Was come, and, faithful to his promise, stood 
Prepared to walk with her through death's dark vale. 
And now her eyes grew bright, and brighter still, 
Too bright for ours to look upon, suffused 
With many tears — and closed without a cloud. 
They set as sets the morning star, which goes 
Not down behind the darkened west, nor hides 
Obscured among the temples of the sky, 
But melts away into the light of heaven. " 

What effect this dying scene had upon the 
youth's susceptible mind we cannot tell. It may 
be that this patient, trustful departure of his be- 
loved sister was the lesson sent by God to im- 
press upon his mind earth's vanities and heaven's 
verities — the light that should so shine upon him y 
that, like Saul, he would say, "Lord, what wilt 
thou have me to do?" At any rate, he very soon 
after could say, l c Woe is unto me if I preach not 
the gospel. ' ' 

His determination being heartily approved by 
his godly parents, measures were at once taken 
to secure the education necessary to fit him to 
enter upon the responsible work of his calling. 
He engaged with zeal in his preparatory studies, 
encouraged, as well he might be, by the glorious 
rewards which every faithful minister of Christ 
may hope to obtain, and which he himself after- 
wards so well described, in a missionary address, 
as follows: 

u But were I to say that the present contem- 



ROBERT POLLOCK. 219 

plation of the victorious march of truth in the 
lands of ignorance was all the reward which 
awaits the Christian's exertions, I should be 
speaking apart from the words of inspiration. 
When this world, with all its enjoyments, has 
passed away, when gold cannot purchase one 
luxurious dish to the voluptuary, nor one mo- 
ment's repose to the careless, nor one grim smile 
to the earth-grasping miser, then shall the exer- 
tions of the Christian receive their full reward. 
When that Christian who has been the means of 
spiritually enlightening the mind of a fellow- 
creature has 'put on immortality,' when he is 
reposing himself on the ever-verdant banks of 
the river of life, then from him shall be heard 
a louder note of praise swelling the eternal ho- 
sannas of heaven. How much will it add to his 
endless bliss to shake hands, in the regions of 
immortality, with some once inhabitant of the 
desert, whom he has been permitted, by his ben- 
efactions, to be the means of elevating from the 
wastes of darkness, suffering, and death, and of 
placing amid the brightness of immortal day and 
the felicities of eternal life. His services have 
been great, and his reward shall be in proportion 
to his services. * The liberal soul shall be made 
fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also 
himself. ' ' They that be wise (or, teachers) shall 



220 HERGES AND HEROINES. 

shine as the brightness of the firmament; and 
they that turn many to righteousness, as the 
stars for ever and ever.' Verily, all who serve 
Christ shall find that his ' reward is with him. ' ! ' 

Having finished his preparatory studies, Pol- 
lock entered the University of Glasgow, in 1817, 
at a period when that celebrated seat of learn- 
ing was more than usually favored with efficient 
professors. Professors Mylne and Young seem 
to have been the young man's favorites. In 
regard to the first, Pollock wrote to his broth- 
er: " In Mr. Mylne' s class I was set free for ever 
from the trammels of book authority;" and in 
his note-book he styled the second u a wonder- 
ful man." 

During the period of his studies in college 
Pollock indulged himself freely in writing both 
prose and poetry — fugitive pieces, however. It 
had not yet entered into his mind to produce a 
volume. Among these pieces his ode entitled 
u The Distressed Christian to his Soul" is wor- 
thy of notice. It is said to be his second effort at 
blank verse. How just and animating is the 
thought of the following extract: 

" No, no, my soul ! life and eternal joy, 
A crown of glory, an unfading crown, 
Imparted from the grandeur infinite 
Of glory uncreated, will be thine, 
If in the path of duty thou abide. 



ROBERT POLLOCK, 221 

That God who into being spoke the world, 
And still with arm omnipotent maintains 
The revolution vast of varied things, 
Hath sworn by his eternal Godhead high 
That he who perseveres in righteousness, 
Who fights the fight of faith, and turns not back, 
Shall immortality and honor gain ; 
Unseen, unheard, unthought of happiness ; 
Bliss which Jehovah's goodness has prepared. 

" Rise, rise, my soul ; see yonder blest abode ; 
Behold the beatific vision bright ; 
And say how ill it fits thee e'er to fret, 
Or be dismayed at Time's most horrid frown. 
Put on the Christian armor ; bravely fight 
The hosts of earth and hell ; fear not their strength ; 
Power, wisdom infinite, are on thy side. 
The mighty Arm that clave Arabia's gulf, 
Whelmed Egypt's guilty host infuriate, 
Uplifted, fights for thee. Away, away, 
Ye bugbears that surround my soul ! Earth, death 
And hell are foiled by Him in whom resides 
All strength. Eternal victory is thine, 
Immortal life, and everlasting bliss." 

During the same period he read, in one of the 
college societies, a remarkable essay on l l Origi- 
nality," his purpose being to show that there 
may be as much originality in the use of old fig- 
ures as in the invention of new ones. 

Pollock did not, however, waste his time in 
scribbling, but gave such attention to his studies 
as enabled him to stand high in his classes, and 
to benefit from the instructions of his professors. 
This is evident from the fact that, at the close of 



222 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

the logic class, he obtained the prize offered for 
the best essay on the " External Senses. " 

His college course being finished in the fall of 
1822, he entered the Divinity Hall, or theologi- 
cal seminary, of the United Secession, now the 
United Presbyterian Church. In addition to the 
usual studies prescribed in the course, he read 
critically the standard English poets. Milton was 
his favorite; and about this time he records a sin- 
gular dream in which he holds conversation with 
that poet, a conception readily explained by his 
frequent study of his works. 

During his studies his pecuniary necessities 
compelled him to seek relief by the labor of his 
pen; accordingly he wrote, in one week, " Helen 
of the Glen," a Sunday-school book still popular 
among the young, for which he received from a 
Glasgow publisher fifteen pounds. Subsequently, 
for the same reason, he wrote two other volumes, 
"The Persecuted Family," and "Ralph Gem- 
mell, ' ! which are still in demand by the reading 
public. During his studies in the seminary he 
made an address on preaching, before a students' 
society, which is still worthy of the attention of 
theological students. 

While pursuing his studies in Divinity Hall, 
one night in December, 1824, he took from his 
table "Hartley's Oratory," a collection of prose 



ROBERT POLLOCK. 223 

and verse, and tnrned to Byron's " Darkness.' } 
While reading this, the idea of a poem on the 
resurrection suggested itself to his mind; and at 
once he seized a pen and wrote the following, 
now forming part of Book 7 of u The Course of 
Time:" 

" In 'customed glory bright that morn the sun 
Rose, visiting the earth with light and heat 
And joy, and seemed as full of youth, and strong 
To mount the steep of heaven, as when the stars 
Of morning sang to his first dawn, and night 
Fled from his face. The spacious sky received 
Him blushing, as a bride when on her looked 
The bridegroom ; and spread out beneath his eyes 
Earth smiled. Up to his warm embrace the dews, 
That all night long had wept his absence, flew ; 
The herbs and flowers their fragrant stores unlocked, 
And gave the wanton breeze — that, newly woke, 
Revelled in sweets, and from its wings shook health— 
A thousand grateful smells ; the joyous woods 
Dried in his beams their locks, wet with the drops 
Of night ; and all the sons of music sung 
Their matin song." 

With this plan before him, in several succes- 
sive weeks he wrote as much as a thousand lines. 
During a visit to his home at Moorhouse to see 
his mother, w r ho was dying of consumption, he 
was sitting alone one night, meditating, it is prob- 
able, on the life, death, and future of this loved 
mother, when the conception of the ' ' Course of 
Time" burst upon his mind, and made such an 



224 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

impression upon him that he shook with excite- 
ment. This new plan required new chapters and 
more extensive research and labor. Yet in nine- 
teen months he completed the whole, writing in 
the last five weeks thirty-five hundred lines. 

The plot of the poem is simple. It is the 
Scripture history of man, the plan of redemption, 
and the judgment. The story is told by a re- 
deemed earth bard to u two beautiful sons of Par- 
adise" and a stranger who had asked them, as 
they gazed from the battlements of heaven, con- 
cerning a fearful place which he had seen, as with 
swift wing he swept through space from his na- 
tive place to heaven. He described the place as 
follows: 

" And deep as wide, and ruinous as deep, 
Beneath I saw a lake of burning fire 
With tempest tossed perpetually, and still 
The waves of fiery darkness 'gainst the rocks 
Of dark damnation broke, and music made 
Of melancholy sort; and overhead, 
And all around, wind warred with wind, storm howled 
To storm, and lightning forked lightnings crossed, 
And thunder answered thunder, muttering sounds 
Of sullen wrath," etc. 

The " youthful sons" could not answer his 
inquiry, but invited him to go with them to the 

" Ancient bard of earth, 
Who, by the stream of life sitting- in bliss, 
Has oft beheld the eternal years complete 



ROBERT POLLOCK. 225 

The mighty circle round the throne of God ; 
Great in all learning, in all wisdom great, 
And great in song ; whose harp in lofty strain 
Tells frequently of what thy wonder craves." 

He accompanies them, and receives from their 
bard the answer that the place beheld was hell, 
the region of the lost. And that he may under- 
stand who dwell there, and why they came there, 
the bard tells him of creation, the plan of redemp- 
tion, man's character, and the final judgment. In 
the narrative there are many episodes, and great 
facility is shown in describing the virtues, vices, 
and employments of men, as well as their princi- 
ples and hopes. We can give only two extracts — 
the first being part of an encomium on the Bible. 
The seer asks, 

" Hast thou ever heard 
Of such a book? The author God himself, 
The subject God and man, salvation, life, 
And death, eternal life, eternal death. 
Dread words ! whose meaning has no end, no bounds. 
Most wondrous book ! Bright candle of the Lord ! 
Star of eternity ! The only star 
By which the barque of man could navigate 
The sea of life, and gain the coast of bliss 
Securely ! Only star which rose on Time, 
And on its dark and troubled billows— still 
As generation, drifting swiftly by, 
Succeeded generation — threw a ray 
Of heaven's own light, and to the hills of God, 
The eternal hills, pointed the sinner's eye. 
By prophets, seers, and priests, and sacred bards, 

Heroes. 2Q 



226 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

Evangelists, apostles, men inspired 

And by the Holy Ghost anointed, set 

Apart and consecrated to declare 

To earth the counsels of the Eternal One, 

This book, this holiest, this sublimest book, 

Was sent. Heaven's will, Heaven's code of laws entire 

To man, this book contained : defined the bounds 

Of vice and virtue, and of life and death, 

And what was shadow, what was substance, taught." 

Our second extract is part of the well-known 
description of Byron: 

" He touched his harp, and nations heard entranced. 
As some vast river of unfailing source, 
Rapid, exhaustless, deep, his numbers flowed, 
And oped new fountains in the human heart. 
Where Fancy halted, weary in her flight, 
In other men, his, fresh as morning, rose, 
And soared untrodden heights, and seemed at home 
Where angels bashful looked. 

Great man ! the nations gazed and wondered much, 

And praised ; and many called his evil good. 

Wits wrote in favor of his wickedness, 

And kings to do him honor took delight. 

Thus full of titles, flattery, honor, fame, 

Beyond desire, beyond ambition full, 

He died. He died of what ? Of wretchedness : 

Drank every cup of joy, heard every trump 

Of fame ; drank early, deeply drank ; drank draughts 

That common millions might have quenched ; then died 

Of thirst, because there was no more to drink. 

His groanings filled the land his numbers filled ; 
And yet he seemed ashamed to groan, poor man! 
Ashamed to ask ; and yet he needed help. 



ROBERT POLLOCK. 227 

Proof, this, beyond all lingering of doubt, 

That not with natural or mental wealth 

Was God delighted, or his peace secured ; 

That not in natural or mental wealth 

Was human happiness or grandeur found. 

Attempt how monstrous, and how surely vain, 

With things of earthly sort, with aught but God, 

With aught but moral excellence, truth, and love, 

To satisfy and fill the immortal soul. 

Attempt vain inconceivably ! Attempt 

To satisfy the ocean with a drop, 

To marry Immortality to Death ; 

And with the unsubstantial shade of Time 

To fill the embrace of all Eternity I" 

" The poem," says the biographer of Pollock, 
■ l shone forth like a comet on the literary circles 
of Edinburgh and London, and soon became the 
absorbing topic of conversation. The harp of 
Scotland had suddenly been struck by a master- 
hand to notes of holy minstrelsy It took 

its place like a planet of the largest class among 
the other members in the firmament of song, and 
its brilliancy has increased with every succeeding 
year. ' ' 

The poem being finished, Pollock gave him- 
self still more arduously to his studies, prepara- 
tory to engaging in the work of the ministry ; and 
finally, in May, 1827, he was licensed to preach 
from the pulpit the gospel which he had already 
proclaimed in his great poem. But his work was 
nearly ended; the messenger of death was close 



2?.8 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

behind him; and although his poetical achieve- 
ment had secured to him numerous friends, able 
and willing to help him as far as human skill and 
wealth could do it, yet all were in vain. On Sep- 
tember 15, 1827, the same year in which his poem 
was published, and his first sermon preached, in 
the twenty-ninth year of his age, the Master took 
him to "the courts above," to sing still more 
sweetly than he had done on earth. His friends 
erected over his grave a monument with the fol- 
lowing inscription: u The grave of Robert Pol- 
lock, author of c The Course of Time. * His im- 
mortal poem is his monument." And, we may 
add, through it, though dead, he still preaches 
the glorious gospel of the blessed Saviour. 



THOMAS CHALMERS. 229 



THOMAS CHALMERS. 

Thomas Chalmers was born in a small town 
in Fifeshire, Scotland, on the 17th of March, 1780. 
His parents were noted for their decision of char- 
acter and piety. John Chalmers, his father, occu- 
pied a leading position among his fellow-towns- 
men of Anstruther, and at one time filled the office 
of provost of the town. He was also in a position 
to experience the truth of the declaration, l * Hap- 
py is the man that hath his quiver full of them 
(children); they shall not be ashamed, but they 
shall speak with the enemies in the gate. ' ' He 
had fourteen children, of whom Thomas was the 
sixth. At the early age of three years Thomas 
was sent to school; he, however, manifested no 
special fondness for study, but was rather distin- 
guished for his love of the sports of the play- 
ground. Yet he soon learned to read, and found 
delight in "The Pilgrim's Progress" and the 
narratives of Scripture. Fifty years afterwards 
he said of such reading, " I feel quite sure that 
the use of the sacred dialogues as a school-book, 
and the pictures of Scripture scenes which inter- 
ested my boyhood, still cling to me, and impart a 
peculiar tinge and charm to the same representa- 



230 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

tions when brought within my notice. " He man- 
ifested intense sympathy, even in his earliest 
years, with the sufferings of humanity. Having 
heard his father read the story of Absalom's rebel- 
lion and death, he was afterwards found in the 
nursery, much excited, repeating the words, "Oh, 
my son Absalom ! O Absalom, my son, my son!" 

He early determined to become a minister of 
the gospel, and chose for his first text, u I,et 
brotherly love continue. ' ' His affectionate, warm- 
hearted nature could not but appreciate the doc- 
trine of such a text, and it was dear to him as 
long as he lived. His motto was, Where organic 
union cannot be obtained, let there be coopera- 
tion among Christians of every name. 

At the age of twelve he was sent to the Uni- 
versity of St. Andrews; he w T as too young to fully 
appreciate its privileges, and for two years he 
made little progress. In his fourteenth year, how- 
ever, he entered on the study of mathematics, 
under Prof. Dr. James Brown, when his mind was 
aroused from its lethargy and first began to mani- 
fest its vast power. Mathematical study had spe- 
cial attraction for him, and he never lost his rel- 
ish for it, and ever afterwards regarded it as one 
of the best instrumentalities for training the mind. 

The French Revolution was in progress at this 
time, and even Scotland w r as not free from the 



THOMAS CHALMERS. 231 

excitement of that sad period in French history. 
Prof. Brown sympathized with many of the prin- 
ciples of the radical school of politics, and Chal- 
mers warmly embraced his sentiments, and is said 
to have read " Goodwin's Political Justice n with 
delight and approval. The excitement and the 
discussion of the times did much to loosen his 
hold on the conservative principles that he had 
been taught in his home at Anstruther; but after 
a while he was led back again to the true con- 
servatism and the holy religion which he had seen 
exemplified in the house of his father. 

In 1795, when not yet sixteen years of age, he 
was enrolled as a student of theology, and, though 
by no means prepared to study it, because not yet 
enlightened by the Spirit of God, he nevertheless 
made great progress in formalism, and it is said 
that when his turn came to lead in prayer in the 
public hall, many of the citizens crowded to hear 
him. So nearly may the formalist copy the true 
Christian. 

Towards the close of his first year in the theo- 
logical hall, a new era was opened up in his men- 
tal life by the study of " Edwards on the Will." 
This work was to him a source of intense pleas- 
ure, and a mine which furnished to him treasures 
of the profoundest thought. He was spellbound 
by the clear reasoning of the treatise, and filled 



232 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

with awe by the majesty of its doctrine. His 
mind expanded and became ennobled as he 
thought of infinite wisdom guiding and controll- 
ing the destinies of the sons of men. Twenty- 
four years afterwards he wrote, "I remember, 
when a student of divinity, and long ere I could 
relish evangelical sentiment, I spent nearly a 
twelvemonth in a sort of mental elysium, and the 
one idea which ministered to my soul all its rap- 
ture was the magnificence of the Godhead, and 
the universal subordination of all things to the 
one great purpose for which he evolved and was 
supporting creation. I should like to be so in- 
spired over again, but with such a view of the 
Deity as coalesced and was in harmony with the 
doctrine of the New Testament. ' ' 

During the last year of his theological course, 
as he was required to attend lectures only three 
months, he engaged as a tutor in a private fam- 
ily. In this position he was treated in a haughty 
and scornful manner by his employers, a thing to 
which his independent mind could not well sub- 
mit. Accordingly, after six months' service, he 
relinquished his position, making the following 
reply to his employer, when taunted by him with 
being proud: " There are," said he, "two kinds 
of pride, sir: there is that pride which lords it 
over inferiors; and there is that pride which re- 



THOMAS CHALMERS. 233 

joices in repressing the insolence of superiors. 
The first I have none of; the second I glory in. ' ' 
Yet with all the independence of character which 
Chalmers evidenced in his intercourse with his 
fellow-men, he was, after he found the Saviour, 
characterized by the humility and trustfulness of 
a little child w r hen he drew near to God. So the 
apostle Paul in all sincerity could declare, " I am 
less than the least of all the saints, ' ' and also, ' i I 
suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest 
apostles. But though I be rude in speech, yet 
not in knowledge. ' ' 

Having become dissatisfied with the work of a 
tutor, Chalmers applied, after finishing his course 
at the theological hall, for licensure ; and after 
some difficulty, on account of his age — he being 
only nineteen years old, and the rule requiring 
students to be twenty-one before they are taken 
on trial for licensure — he w r as licensed, July 31, 
1779, to preach the gospel of the grace of God, 
on the plea that "he was a lad of pregnant 
parts. ' ' 

After his licensure he attended lectures in Ed- 
inburgh during two winters, and was much inter- 
ested, and no doubt profited by the prelections of 
Drs. Stewart and Robinson. About this time, 
through the influence of a former classmate, he 
was appointed assistant to the parish minister at 

Heroes. ^Q 



234 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

Cavers, in Roxburghshire; but he was not satis- 
fied with this position. It was the height of his 
ambition to obtain a professorship in one of the 
colleges of his native country, and he sought 
whatever might tend to the consummation de- 
sired. Accordingly, he applied for and obtained 
the position of assistant to the mathematical pro- 
fessor in St. Andrews University, and soon after 
was appointed pastor of Kilmany, a parish some 
nine miles distant from St. Andrews, and was 
ordained and settled in this parish in May, 1803. 
His success as a teacher aroused the opposition of 
the incumbent of the mathematical chair in the 
university, and Chalmers was dismissed from his 
position at the end of the term. He keenly felt 
this treatment as a blow at his reputation, and 
determined to compete single-handed with the 
university in the following winter, which he did 
with success, drawing from the college a large 
number of students to his mathematical and chem- 
istry classes. 

A few years afterwards, in 1808, he published 
his first book, an " Inquiry into the Extent and 
Stability of National Resources," a work called 
forth by the national alarm at Napoleon's decrees 
against British commerce. The publication of 
this book helped to make the author's reputation. 
He was soon after elected delegate to the General 



THOMAS CHALMERS. 235 

Assembly, and made a notable speech, which at 
once brought him into prominence in the church, 
showing the need of adequate salaries for the min- 
isters, in order to an increase of their influence 
and usefulness. 

Chalmers now gloried in the church and in 
Christianity as a system of truth. To quote his 
own words, ' c I revere Christianity, not because 
it is the religion of my fathers; I revere it not be- 
cause it is the established religion of my country ; 
I revere it not because it brings to me the emolu- 
ments of office; but I revere it because it is built 
upon the solid foundation of impregnable argu- 
ments; because it has improved the world by the 
lessons of an ennobling morality. ' ' After a little 
while he was able to add : because of its power to 
make wise unto salvation; because it revealed a 
Saviour able and willing to save lost and ruined 
man. That Saviour he had not yet found. For 
some seven years, at Kilmany, he preached a the- 
oretical religion; he could expatiate with eloquent 
tongue ' ' on the meanness of dishonesty, on the 
villany of falsehood, on the despicable arts of cal- 
umny;" but the thief would still steal, and the 
liar would still utter his falsehoods. To minister 
to the repression of wickedness in the listeners, 
there was needed a new nature in the preacher; 
but that new nature could be found only by 



236 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

coming to that Saviour whom he had not yet 
embraced. 

But he was laid upon a bed of sickness; bro- 
thers and sisters were taken away; and the Holy 
Sprit was at work impressing upon his heart the 
need of a better righteousness than his own. 
Wilberforce' s 4 4 Practical View of Religion, ' ' 
Scott's "Force of Truth, " and Hannah More's 
" Essay on Practical Piety" also contributed to 
enlighten his darkness and enable him to see the 
suitability of the Saviour to meet his wants; and 
in 1810 his style of preaching changed entirely. 
Instead of preaching to uninterested hearers a 
cold morality, he soon had a crowded assembly 
of anxious listeners, as from a full heart he ad- 
dressed them in such words as, " It is not because 
you are so great a sinner that I would have you 
to be comforted, but because Jesus Christ is so 
great a Saviour; it is not the smallness of sin, but 
the greatness of him who died for it. I would 
have you to be satisfied, but not with self. .... 
I would have you listen to that loud and widely- 
sounding call, ( Look unto me, and be ye saved, 
all ye ends of the earth.' " And as an illustra- 
tion of the effect of such sermons, his biographer 
gives the following facts: " In the spring of 181 2 
he preached on the text, ' God so loved the world,' 
etc., John 3:16. Two young men, Alexander 



THOMAS CHALMERS. 237 

Patterson and Robert Eddie, heard the discourse, 
and as they journeyed homeward one asked the 
other, 'Did you feel anything particularly in 
church to-day ?' The other replied, c I never felt 
myself to be a lost sinner until to-day, when I 
was listening to that sermon. ' c It is very strange, ' 
rejoined the other, ' it was just the same with me. ' 
They turned from their path into a neck of woods, 
and, screened by the foliage, they together knelt 
and prayed. Both dated their conversion from 
that day. Alexander Patterson afterwards be- 
came the celebrated missionary among the lanes 
and by-ways of Edinburgh, and the other was 
active in every form of Christian usefulness. ' ' 

In 1 81 3 an article on Christianity which Chal- 
mers had for some years been engaged upon, and 
whose preparation had contributed to the spiritual 
change which he had experienced, appeared in 
the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, and was repub- 
lished separately, with additions, under the title 
of l ' Evidences of Christianity. ' ' 

The fame of the wonderful preacher spread 
over Scotland, and soon a deputation from the 
Town Council of Glasgow came to hear him; he 
was invited to become pastor of the Tron Church 
of that city, and left Kilmany in July, 1815. At 
Glasgow he delivered his celebrated astronomical 
discourses, w T hich were published in January, 



238 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

1 817, and within the year nine editions were 
called for. Never before did a volume of sermons 
meet with such a demand; nearly twenty thou- 
sand copies were sold within the year. It was 
during this year, when he was at the very height 
of his popularity, that he visited London to preach 
the anniversary sermon of the London Missionary 
Society, in Surrey Chapel; and although the ser- 
vice did not begin until eleven o'clock, the chapel 
was crowded at seven o'clock in the morning. 
Concerning this sermon, which was from the sin- 
gular text, 1 Cor. 14 : 22-25, Mr. Smith, the pub- 
lisher, wrote, ' ' I write under the nervousness of 
having heard and witnessed the most astonishing 
display of human talent that, perhaps, ever com- 
manded sight or hearing. . . . Nothing from the 
Tron pulpit ever exceeded it." 

As a matter of course, so able and popular a 
preacher was sought by other communities wher- 
ever it was thought that it was possible to obtain 
him; accordingly, Stirling and Edinburgh par- 
ishes sought his services, but were refused; but 
he accepted a call to St. John's, a new parish in 
Glasgow, where he thought he could carry out 
more fully his peculiar views of caring for the 
whole people of the parish by means of church 
officers. He was assisted in his work by the after- 
wards celebrated Edward Irving. 



THOMAS CHALMERS. 239 

Notwithstanding the success of Chalmers as a 
preacher and pastor, he had still some love for 
professorial work, the remains of his first ambi- 
tion, and he accepted an appointment to the chair 
of Moral Philosophy at St. Andrews, in 1823. 
A few years afterwards, in 1828, he w r as trans- 
ferred to the chair of Theology in Edinburgh 
University. In this position he remained until 
the disruption, or withdrawal of a large body of 
clergymen and laymen from the established 
church of Scotland, in 1843, when he was elected 
to the chair of Theology in the new college found- 
ed by the newly-formed ' ' Free Church. ' ' During 
his professorship of some fifteen years in the Uni- 
versity of Edinburgh, he abounded in labors hav- 
ing for their object both the temporal and spirit- 
ual welfare of men. He was the leading spirit 
in the controversies which resulted in the forma- 
tion of the Free Church, which claimed for con- 
gregations a voice in the selection of their pastors ; 
and more than any other he provided for that 
church the compact organization which has since 
done so much to make it a power, not only in 
Scotland, but in the world. 

During the four years which he lived after the 
disruption, he was instant in season and out of 
season, that he might promote the cause of the 
divine Redeemer. And if he loved and labored 



240 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

for the Free Church, it was because he thought 
he could thereby best subserve the object for 
which the church was instituted by its divine 
Head. Our space does not permit us to notice 
his literary labors, his efforts in behalf of educa- 
tion, and his missionary work in West Port, 
Edinburgh, among the most degraded of that 
city's population. His biographer says, u The 
physical and moral condition of this community 
was deplorable; one-fourth were paupers on the 
poor roll, one-fourth were street beggars, thieves, 
or prostitutes. V But even among these u the 
gospel was the power of God unto salvation." 
They were the possessors of souls worth more 
than the entire world, and Dr. Chalmers, with all 
his mighty intellect, did not think it a waste of 
time to proclaim to them that Saviour who u is 
able to save to the uttermost all that come unto 
God by him. " 

But his work on earth was nearly finished. 
His last sermon was preached from the text, Isa. 
27 : 4, 5, and on Monday morning, May 31, 1847, 
he was found dead in his bed, having passed 
away apparently without any struggle. On June 
4 he was carried to his grave. Concerning the 
immense numbers that formed his funeral proces- 
sion, composed of all classes, the high and the. 
low, the rich and the poor alike, a spectator at 



THOMAS CHALMERS. 241 

the time wrote: " There was a moral sublimity 
in the spectacle. It spoke more emphatically 
than by words of the dignity of intrinsic excel- 
lence, and of the height to which a true man may 
attain. It was the dust of a Presbyterian minis- 
ter which the coffin contained, and yet they were 
burying him amid the tears of a nation, and with 
more than kingly honors. ' ' 



31 



242 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



JOHN WILLIAMS. 

In the Island of Raro tonga, at Arorangi, a 
large stone monument stands, with the following 
inscription, in English and in Rarotongan: u To 
the memory of Rev. John Williams, of the Lon- 
don Missionary Society, who, having labored up- 
wards of fourteen years at Raiatea, was made the 
honored instrument of introducing Christianity to 
the Hervey and Samoan Islands. In attempting 
to convey the gospel to the New Hebrides, he fell 
a sacrifice, with his friend Mr. Harris, on the isl- 
and of Erromango, to the cruelty of the deluded 
heathen inhabitants, November 20, 1839." 

Yes, on that sad day, over forty years ago, the 
club of a cannibal ended the life and self-denying 
labor of one of England's noblest missionaries. 

John Williams was born June 20, 1796, at 
Tottenham, a suburb of London. His mother, 
previous to her marriage, was an attendant on the 
ministry of the Rev. William Romaine, and, al- 
though not converted to Christ until after her 
removal from London, it is believed that the 
truths which she heard from that earnest man 
were the means of shaping her principles, and, 



JOHN WILLIAMS. 243 

finally, of determining the character of her son, 
John Williams. 

When he arrived at proper age he was appren- 
ticed to an ironmonger in City Road, London, a 
circumstance which did not appear very favora- 
ble to his accomplishment of any great work in 
the world, but which he afterwards found was in- 
tended, in the providence of God, as one prepara- 
tion for the great task designed for him. Here 
he had an opportunity of gaining that mechanical 
knowledge and skill which were afterwards of 
immense value to him in his work among the isl- 
ands of the sea. But while he was making pro- 
gress in the direction of his trade, he w T as not im- 
proving equally fast in moral and spiritual quali- 
fications. One Sabbath evening in 1814, when 
he was in his eighteenth year, he made arrange- 
ments to meet some of his godless companions, 
and to go with them to a tea-garden. While 
waiting on the street for them, and feeling a little 
angry because they were behind time, the wife of 
his employer passed along and asked him to ac- 
company her to church. He unwillingly yielded, 
and went with her to the Tabernacle, where Rev. 
Timothy Bast, of Birmingham, preached a ser- 
mon en Matt. 16 : 26: " What is a man profited if 
he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own 
soul ? or what shall a man give in exchange for 



244 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

his soul ?'■' The Spirit of God applied the truth 
spoken to his heart; he became a new man, and 
new motives controlled his life. 

Twenty-four years afterwards, when his name 
was known not only in the South Sea Islands, but 
everywhere throughout Great Britain, he stood in 
that same pulpit, and said, "I have the door in 
my view at which I then entered; and I have all 
the circumstances of that important era in my 
history vividly impressed upon my mind; and I 
have in my eye at this instant the particular spot 
on which I took my seat; I have, also, a distinct 
impression of the powerful sermon that was that 
evening preached by the excellent Mr. East; and 
God was pleased, in his gracious providence, to 
influence my mind at that time so powerfully that 
I forsook all my worldly companions. ' ' 

He soon after connected himself with the con- 
gregation, and engaged with zeal in the Christian 
work undertaken by it. In the year 1815, in con- 
sequence of information given through the auxil- 
iary mission society of this congregation concern- 
ing the state of the heathen, Mr. Williams became 
deeply impressed with the conviction that it was 
his duty to become a missionary. This feeling 
was fostered by his pastor, the Rev. Matthew 
Wilts; and, finally, Mr. Williams, after having 
passed the usual examination, was accepted as a 



JOHN WILLIAMS. 245 

missionary by the London Missionary Society, 
July, 1816, and appointed to the South Sea Isl- 
ands, while others were to go to Africa. In Octo- 
ber he was married to an estimable lady, who was 
ever a helpmeet in his work, Miss Mary Chauner, 
a member of the Tabernacle congregation. 

It was finally determined that the missionaries 
should sail November 17, 1816; among them was 
the afterwards celebrated Robert Moffat. In May, 
1 81 7, the vessel reached Sydney, where Mr. Wil- 
liams remained, laboring as he best could, until 
September 4, when a vessel was found to take 
him to Tahiti, where he landed on the 17th of 
November, a whole year after he had left Lon- 
don. The difficulties of access to any field of 
missionary labor have now been in great part re- 
moved, and weeks, instead of months, measure 
the time of travel. 

Among the first things that Mr. Williams en- 
gaged in at the place of his residence, Eimeo, an 
island near Tahiti, was to aid in building a ves- 
sel, that some means of communication with other 
islands might be had. Missionaries had been la- 
boring with success at Eimeo for about five years; 
it was therefore thought best to extend the work 
to other islands; and finally Mr. Williams em- 
barked for Raiatea, after visiting Huaheine. 
Raiatea is the largest and most lofty of the west- 



246 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

ern group of the Society Islands. Some of its 
mountains rise two thousand feet above the level 
of the sea, and it is naturally a lovely island. But 
in 1818 the usages of its people were most deba- 
sing and cruel, and their island was "the focus 
and source of the abominable idolatries which 
had darkened and destroyed the inhabitants of its 
own and surrounding shores. ' ' But scarcely two 
years rolled around before the people of this isl- 
and formed themselves into a missionary society 
to send the gospel to others. At their first meet- 
ing King Tamatoa presided, and addressed the 
large assembly thus: 

4 l Remember what you used to do for your 
lying gods. You used to give them all your time, 
your strength, your property, and even your lives. 
Then you had nothing of your own; it was all 

the evil spirit's But now all your property 

is your own, and here are your teachers; God sent 

them Now your eyes are open, and you 

see it is all false, all paranpoke — word and work 
which end in death. Let us do what we learn; 
let us take pity upon other lands ; let us give 
property willingly, with our whole heart, to send 
them missionaries." And they did give willingly 
and liberally, for their contributions of cocoanut 
oil brought the society that year $2,500. 

Mr. Williams having, by the blessing of God, 



JOHN WILLIAMS. 247 

accomplished so much for Raiatea, now turned 
his thought to other islands, and in October, 1821, 
he sailed for Aitutaki, one of the Hervey or Cook 
group. Leaving teachers there, he sailed to Syd- 
ney, where he purchased a vessel for Raiatea, that 
the inhabitants might have the means of trans- 
porting their produce, which was now fast in- 
creasing. The religion of Christ blesses men in 
time, as well as prepares them for eternity. Mr. 
Williams fully believed in this doctrine, and used 
his influence everywhere to promote the civil, as 
well as the moral and spiritual welfare of the peo- 
ple among whom he labored. 

Soon after his return to Raiatea he, with six 
native teachers, undertook another voyage to Ai- 
tutaki in the new vessel, which he named u The 
Endeavor. ' ' At Aitutaki he met some natives of 
Rarotonga, an island not then on the map. Mr. 
Williams set out to discover it, and, succeeding 
after several attempts, found it the finest and most 
populous island of the Hervey group. The re- 
sults of his discovery are well told by the monu- 
ment to which we have already alluded. His 
first visit to Rarotonga was made in 1823, and 
two years afterwards he wrote from there, ( 4 Our 
men have brought us the most pleasing news, 
with ocular demonstration, of the triumphs of 
the mighty gospel. All idolatry is abolished in 



248 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

this populous island. They have erected a chapel 
one hundred and six fathoms in length. Perhaps 
you may say I have made a mistake, but I have 
not. It is upwards of six hundred feet long, and 
all the people cannot get into it. ' ' So rapid and 
thorough a change shows how admirably fitted 
the religion of Christ is to reach down to and lift 
up the most degraded of our race. It was on this 
island that Mr. Williams afterwards built the 
44 Messenger of Peace," which he used so effi- 
ciently in introducing the gospel to other islands. 
While he was engaged in this undertaking, his 
mechanical genius and the acquirements of his 
apprenticeship came to his aid, and enabled him 
to make the tools necessary for constructing the 
vessel ; and in fifteen weeks he completed and 
launched a boat sixty feet long and eighteen feet 
wide. With this vessel, which he could call his 
own, he made many voyages, introducing Chris- 
tian native preachers in many islands, visiting 
and encouraging those already at work, and aid- 
ing them in contending against the difficulties 
which they were called on to meet, not the least 
of which was the introduction, by trading ships, 
of ardent spirits. When will this curse be ban- 
ished from every Christian land ? And when will 
civilised and nominally Christian nations cease to 
impose it upon barbarous and heathen peoples? 



JOHN WILLIAMS. 249 

Finally, Mr. Williams determined to visit his na- 
tive land, and arrived there in June, 1834, after 
an absence of eighteen years. 

He was received in England by all classes with 
much enthusiasm, and became at once exceeding- 
ly popular as a speaker through the power with 
which he advocated the cause of missions, so that 
the churches could scarcely hold the people who 
assembled to hear him. By his sermons, ad- 
dresses, and the volume which he wrote and pub- 
lished at this period, his " Narrative of Mission- 
ary Enterprises in the South Sea Islands," which 
was extensively circulated, he awakened a new 
interest in the mission work among all classes, 
both in England and Scotland. 

At the annual meeting of the missionary soci- 
ety, in 1835, he spoke warmly in favor of increas- 
ing the work, and of an effort to induce the vari- 
ous denominations to divide heathendom among 
them, and thus cover the whole earth with the 
glad news of salvation. 

During this visit to England he superintended 
the publication of the New Testament in Raro- 
tongan, having completed the translation before 
leaving the South Sea Islands. 

Having spent nearly four years in his work of 
lecturing and publishing, Mr. Williams began to 
think of returning to his field of labor. But it 



250 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

was necessary first to obtain a vessel more suited 
to his wants than the one which he had built him- 
self; and, after failing in obtaining one from the 
government, to which he applied on the ground 
of the value of the mission work to the commerce 
of the country, he collected from friends of mis- 
sions nearly twenty thousand dollars, with which 
he bought and equipped the " Camden, " a vessel 
admirably adapted to his purpose. On this he 
embarked for his field of labor in April, 1838, 
taking with him sixteen other missionaries, as- 
signed to various islands. 

Mr. Williams took up his residence in the Sa- 
moan group, and labored there when not visiting 
and locating teachers on the other islands. In 
November, 1839, he undertook his last voyage of 
visitation. Just before he embarked on the Cam- 
den a blind chief visited him, and said, 

" Teacher Williams, I am a blind man, but I 
have a great desire to go with you to the dark 
lands. Perhaps my being blind will make the 
people pity me and not kill me; and while I can 
talk to them and tell them about Jesus, my boy 
[placing his hand on the head of his son] can read 
and write, and so we can teach these things. n 
How changed was this chief from his former cruel 
and bloodthirsty self ! 

Next day, November 4, 1839, the Camden 



JOHN WILLIAMS. 251 

sailed, with Mr. Williams and several native 
teachers, who were to be left at the islands that 
were willing to receive them. Having left three 
of these teachers at the Island of Tanna, the ves- 
sel proceeded to Erromango, where, on the morn- 
ing of the 20th of November, Mr. Williams and 
his friend Mr. Harris landed, and were slain by 
the clubs of the natives. Capt. Morgan, the com- 
mander of the Camden, gives the following de- 
scription of the scene, quoted in the * i Life of Mr. 
Williams n by Ebenezer Prout. 

u Mr. Williams remarked that he saw a num- 
ber of boys playing, and thought it a good sign as 
implying that the natives had no bad intentions. 
I said I thought so too, but I would rather see 
some women also, because when the natives re- 
solve on mischief they send the women out of the 
way ; there were no women on the beach. At 
last he got up, went forward in the boat, and 
landed. He presented his hand to the natives, 
which they were unwilling to take. He then 
called to me to hand some cloth out of the boat, 
and he sat down and divided it among them, en- 
deavoring to win their confidence. All three 
walked up the beach, Mr. Harris first, Mr. Wil- 
liams and Mr. Cunningham following. After 
they had walked about one hundred yards, they 
turned to the right, alongside of the bush, and I 



2 52 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

lost sight of them; Mr. Harris was the farthest 
off. I then went on shore, supposing that we had 
found favor in the eyes of the people. I stopped 
to see the boat anchored safely, and then walked 
up the beach towards the spot where the others 
had proceeded, but before I had gone one hun- 
dred yards the boat's crew cried out to me to run 
to the boat. I looked round, and saw Mr. Wil- 
liams and Mr. Cunningham running, Mr. Cun- 
ningham towards the boat and Mr. Williams to- 
wards the sea, with one native close behind him. 
I got into the boat, and by this time two natives 
were close behind me, though I did not see them 
at the moment. By this time Mr. Williams had 
got to the water, but the beach being stony and 
steep, he fell backward, and the native struck him 
with a club, and often repeated the blow. A 
short time after another native came up and struck 
him, and very soon another came up and pierced 
several arrows into his body," which was after- 
wards nearly consumed by the cannibalistic sav- 
ages. 

But, though dead, this brave and devoted mis- 
sionary still speaks in the noble work which he 
accomplished in these islands; and the worship- 
ping assemblies everywhere found in them are 
better monuments than those erected in Samoa 
and Rarotonga to his memory. 



JOHN COLERIDGE PA TTESON. 253 



JOHN COLERIDGE PATTESON. 

Among the islands in the South Pacific, near 
those visited and Christianized by the labors of 
Williams and his fellow-workers, is a group called 
Santa Cruz, lying north of the New Hebrides. 
Among all these islands, in years past, kidnap- 
ping vessels were accustomed to cruise, and de- 
coy and steal as many of the naMves as possible, 
and sell them into slavery. This aroused the pas- 
sions of the natives, and, not knowing how to dis- 
tinguish between white men who were friends and 
those who were foes, they generally revenged 
themselves on the first white visitors who arrived 
after a kidnapping had occurred. Thus the la- 
mented Bishop Patteson, visiting one of these 
groups shortly after such an occurrence, was, 
though a devoted friend to the islanders, slain, as 
Williams had been, by the clubs of the natives, 
just as he was landing. Truly, the savages knew 
not what they did; for those clubs struck down 
one of their most devoted friends, and one in a 
position to do much towards securing their tem- 
poral and eternal welfare. 

John Coleridge Patteson was born in London 



254 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

in 1827. His father, Sir John Patteson, held a 
position on the English bench, and was highly 
esteemed as a lawyer. His mother was a niece 
of the poet Coleridge, whose name she gave to 
her son. In his boyhood the subject of our sketch 
is said to have been more than ordinarily quick in 
acquiring knowledge, reading well at five years 
of age; and from a very early period his mind was 
bent upon becoming a clergyman, a purpose w r hich 
his mother took care to foster. When eight years 
of age he was sent to Ottery to school; and when 
he reached the*age of eleven he was transferred 
to Eton, where he was noted as one of the best 
cricket-players in the school. While there he 
heard Dr. Selwyn, the newly-consecrated bishop 
of New Zealand, preach in New Windsor Chapel, 
and the sermon made a deep impression on his 
mind. Bishop Selwyn, being acquainted with 
the Patteson family, visited them before leaving 
England, and on leaving said to Lady Patteson, 
* ' You must give me Coley. ' } 

He entered Baliol College in his eighteenth 
year. After his graduation and ordination he ac- 
cepted the position of curate at Affington; and 
while there he interested himself greatly in both 
the temporal and spiritual welfare of the poor of 
the parish. But while Patteson was thus en- 
gaged, Bishop Selwyn returned to England, and 



JOHN COLERIDGE PATTESON 255 

revived the young curate's aspirations for the 
work of a missionary. The consent of his father 
being obtained — his mother having before this 
been called home to her rest above — he sailed in 
March, 1855, for his life-work among the islands 
of the South Pacific. 

Bishop Selwyn had established a college at 
Auckland, in New Zealand, and here Patteson 
began his first work — the work of assisting in the 
education of native missionaries. Bishop Sel- 
wyn' s plan was to gather young boys from the 
islands around r teach them, and return them in 
his mission ship to their respective homes for the 
yearly vacation. These boys, even if not con- 
verted to Christ, yet, by their increased intelli- 
gence, and their reports of the work and worship 
at Auckland, were so many missionaries preparing 
the way for the acceptance of the gospel. Into 
this work Mr. Patteson entered with all the en- 
thusiasm of his nature. Bishop Selwyn wrote to 
his father, some time after the arrival of the young 
man, 

1 ' Coley is, as you say, the right man in the 
right place, mentally and physically. The mul- 
tiplicity of languages, which would try most men, 
is met by his peculiar gift. The heat of the cli- 
mate suits his peculiar constitution; his mild and 
parental temper makes his black boys cling about 



256 • HEROES AND HEROINES. 

him as their natural protector; his freedom from 
fastidiousness makes all parts of the work easy to 
him; for when you have to teach boys how to 
wash themselves and to wear clothes for the first 
time, the romance of missionary work disappears 
as completely as a great man's heroism before his 
valet de chambre." 

During the recess of the college studies, Mr. 
Patteson was accustomed to visit, in the mission- 
ary ship, other islands besides those from which 
they had students. In one of these voyages, the 
one undertaken in 1857, he visited sixty-six isl- 
ands, and landed eighty-one times, being shot at 
by savage arrows only twice. He exchanged with 
the natives hatchets, gimlets, bottles, calico, etc. , 
for cocoanuts, yams, and other products, thus se- 
curing the confidence of the natives, and opening 
the way either for obtaining boys for the college, 
or for sending a missionary to live and preach 
among the islanders. 

In 1858 it was deemed desirable to establish 
another college, or, if that name is too dignified 
for these training schools, another school, at Lifu; 
and Mr. Patteson, with twelve boys from the 
Northwest Islands, speaking no fewer than six 
languages, was landed there. ' ( He and four boys 
slept in one of the corner rooms, the other eight 
lads in another, and the Rarotongan teacher, Ta- 



JOHN COLERIDGE PATTESON. 257 

too, and his wife, in a third. ' ' The building was 
not very costly, but, as a beginning, it suited the 
purpose. Mr. Patteson, however, soon removed 
the school to a more desirable location at St. An- 
drews, Kohimarama. 

He describes his work here as follows: "I like 
quiet and rest, with no railroads and no daily 
posts, and, above all, no visitors, mere consumers 
of time, mere idlers and producers of idleness. 
So without any post, and nothing for a cart and 
wheels save a wheelbarrow, and no visitors and 
no shops, I get on very happily and contentedly. 
The life here is to me, I must confess, luxurious, 
because I have what I like: great punctuality, 
early hours, regular school work, regular reading, 
very simple living — the three daily meals in hall 
take about seventy minutes all put together; and 
so, little time is lost; and then the climate is de- 
lightful." 

Thus the work in the schools went on, being 
in great measure preparatory to the greater work 
of procuring access for missionaries to the various 
islands. To such an extent was the latter enter- 
prise engaged in that, to further it, it was pro- 
posed to consecrate Mr. Patteson a bishop, which 
was accordingly done February 24, 1861. Soon 
after he wrote to his father, ( c How I think of 
those islands, how I see those bright coral and 

Heroes. *l "1 



258 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

sandy beaches, strips of burning sunshine frin- 
ging the masses of forest, rising into ridges of hills, 
covered with a dense mass of vegetation ! Hun- 
dreds of people are crowding upon them, naked, 
armed, with wild, uncouth cries and gestures. I 
cannot talk to them but by signs. But they are 
my children now. May God enable me to do my 
duty to them. ' ' 

The bishop now devoted himself even more 
fully than in the past to obtain scholars for his 
schools, as the best means of gaining the confi- 
dence of the natives. A few boys brought away 
and returned in a few months, clothed and im- 
proved somewhat in manners, were sure to gain 
the confidence of the whole island, and provide 
for a supply of boys beyond his demand. The 
difficulty was to obtain boys for the first time 
from an island. Mr. Whitehead, a mate of the 
missionary vessel, describes how it was done: 

1 ' There was much risk connected with these 
boating trips. The mode of procedure was for 
the schooner to stand in the smooth water on the 
lee side of the island to be visited. The bishop's 
whaleboat was then lowered, and manned by his 

own volunteer crew But the difficulty, 

first of all, lay in landing. Even on the lee side 
of these islands there is often much surf, and in 
smooth water the coral reefs with which they are 



JOHN COLERIDGE PATTESON. 259 

surrounded are dangerous neighbors for a boat's 
planking. And so it often happened that the boat 
remained outside the reef at a safe distance, while 
the bishop jumped overboard, and swam or waded 
ashore, as the case might be. And here, again, 
were new and still more terrible dangers, which 
that undaunted hero faced with extraordinary 
calmness and intrepidity. Perhaps, as was often 
the case, he desired to effect a landing at a new 
place, a village with which he had never previ- 
ously held communication, of whose language he 
knew nothing. On the beach he would be met 
by a party of wild and fearful-looking savages, 
stark naked, and all armed with their cruel-look- 
ing clubs and spears, chattering, yelling, and 
brandishing their weapons like so many de- 
mons I have seen him under such cir- 
cumstances calmly advance up the beach into the 
very midst of such a party of ferocious beings. 
As he would advance they would close around 
him ; his black coat would be lost sight of among 
their brown bodies; nothing could be seen but a 
brown mass and a vision of waving arms and pon- 
derous clubs, while a chorus of yells would awa- 
ken the echoes of the shores. Then, after an in- 
terval, the brown mass might be seen steadily and 
slowly creeping towards the green skirting of 
scrub which backed the coral sands; one or two 



260 HEROES AND HEROINES, 

of the nude figures would dart out from the group 
and disappear, shouting, amid the tropical foli- 
age. Additional forms could be observed emer- 
ging from behind bushes and trunks of trees, 
many of them women and children. Then, for a 
while, all would be quiet. Perhaps in half an 
hour the brown fellows would begin to assemble 
again on the beach; then more shouting. Then 
the bishop would come into view, leading by each 
hand a tiny brown boy. Then the brown mass, 
as before, gesticulating and shouting. Then the 
farewell ; the bishop, turning, would make his 
last presents, shake hands with all who desired, 
and plunge into the surf with the two boys." 

Thus boys were obtained from new islands by 
a process which required bravery superior to that 
which is needed to lead a forlorn hope on the bat- 
tlefield. It demanded also devotion, tact, and 
skill such as can be found only in a heart conse- 
crated to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The reception on landing was not always as 
in the case just described. A little later than this 
a visit was made to Santa Cruz, where three of 
the boat's crew were severely wounded with ar- 
rows, from which two of them died. It was a ter- 
rible grief to Bishop Patteson, and weighed upon 
his spirits for a long time. 

His field of operation being chiefly among the 



JOHN COLERIDGE PATTESON. 261 

Melanesian Islands, he removed his school to 
Norfolk Island, some six hundred miles nearer 
than Auckland and St. Andrews, and also more 
desirable as respects climate. Here he enjoyed 
himself much in building up a Christian village. 
Occasionally he laid aside his robes of office, if he 
ever wore any, and cooked for himself some fa- 
vorite dishes ; and sometimes he baked bread, 
which he flattered himself was " uncommonly 
good. ' ' 

But he drew near the end of his work. In 
April, 1871, he started on his last voyage among 
the islands of the New Hebrides group, and 
finally reached Santa Cruz, where, as we have 
already said, he died a martyr for the cause of 
Christ. Five wounds from a club ended the life 
consecrated to the renovation and salvation of 
these islanders. He was murdered by the same 
people w r ho had, some years before, killed Fisher 
Young, his beloved friend, to whom, when dy- 
ing, the bishop had said, u My dear boy, you will 
do more for their conversion by your death than 
ever we shall by our lives. ' y 

Thus a noble man and devoted missionary 
passed away. As a friend who knew him well 
said, in words quoted by Mr. Page in his c ' No- 
ble Workers," the volume to which we are in- 
debted for the facts in our sketch, he was "fear- 



262 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

less as a man, tender as a woman, showing both 
the best sides of human nature, always drawing 
out the good in all about him by force of sym- 
pathy, and not only taking care that nothing 
should be done by others that he would not do 
himself, but doing himself what he did not like 
to ask of them, and thinking that they excelled 
him." 



HEROINES. 



ANNE ASKEW. 265 



ANNE ASKEW. 

MORE than three hundred and thirty years 
ago, at Smithfield, London, a congregation was 
assembled to hear a sermon ; in the midst of the 
assembly, and the object indeed of its meeting, 
was the subject of our sketch, a young lady of 
about twenty-five years. The sermon was for 
her special benefit; it was to prepare her for a 
fearful death, or, rather, for the judgment beyond 
death. 

Anne Askew was the second daughter of Sir 
William Askew, of Lincolnshire, England. Her 
elder sister was betrothed to a gentleman who 
lived in the same county, and was reputed to be 
the possessor of large wealth. She died, how- 
ever, before the marriage, and her father, unwil- 
ling to lose the benefit of the alliance, compelled 
Anne to marry the man who had pledged himself 
to her sister. The event became one means of 
leading Anne to seek consolation in the religion 
of Christ. As she had been blessed with a godly 
tutor, the divine source of comfort and strength 
in trial was know T n to her. 

Though she conducted herself as a Christian 

Heroes. 34 



266 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

wife should, yet, her heart not having been given 
to her husband, loneliness and grief shadowed 
her steps, and led her to the truths of the Bible 
for comfort and direction. But her Bible reading 
soon alienated her mind from the doctrines and 
requirements of the Romish church, and trouble 
followed. Even her husband, the father of her 
two children, united with the priests in demand- 
ing that she should at once cease reading the Bi- 
ble. This her conscience would not permit her 
to do; so her husband turned her out of doors, 
and with her two children she returned to her 
father's house. It is not known what reception 
she met there, but at any rate she was too near 
her husband's family to be allowed to remain in 
peace, and having some relatives in London, she 
removed thither, hoping to secure a divorce from 
her husband. 

But she was not thus to escape the clutches of 
heresy-hunting Rome. Spies were set on her 
track, and finally she was summoned before the 
inquisitors in Sadler's Hall and questioned con- 
cerning her religious belief. Priests were sent to 
entrap her with questions, and at last Bishop Bon- 
ner undertook the case himself, drew up a paper 
asserting a belief in transubstantiation and in the 
regenerating influences of the sacraments of the 
church, and required her to subscribe to it. This 



ANNE ASKEW. 267 

she refused to do, unless justified by the expres- 
sion, "I believe so much thereof as the Holy 
Scriptures do agree unto." Her answer excited 
the bishop's wrath, but for the time being she 
was released. 

Some months after, however, she was re- 
arrested and confined in a cell in Newgate, from 
which she was taken and examined before the 
king's council, when she boldly declared her be- 
lief in the spiritual nature of the sacraments, and 
denied- that the bread and wine actually changed 
into Christ's body and blood. Such a doctrine 
her judges would not tolerate, and she was con- 
demned to be burned to death. 

After her condemnation her judges determined 
to compel her to implicate others in holding the 
same doctrine. Accordingly, they put her upon 
the rack, and almost tore her limbs asunder; final- 
ly, when she swooned in the midst of her excru- 
ciating suffering, they desisted, and offered to 
pardon her if she recanted, which proposition she 
was enabled by the grace of God to spurn. In- 
deed, if she had recanted, her persecutors would 
probably have treated her as Cranmer was after- 
wards treated, and burned her as if she had not 
complied with their demand. 

It was announced that she had recanted, 
whereupon a friend wrote to her asking her if the 



268 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

report was true. She replied as follows: "Gh, 
friend, most dearly beloved in God, I marvel not 
a little what should move you to judge in me so 
slender a faith as to fear death, which is the end 
of all misery. In the Lord I desire you not to 
believe of me such wickedness, for, I doubt it not, 
God will perform his work in me like as he hath 
beofun. I understand the council is not a little 
displeased that it should be reported abroad that I 
was racked in the tower. They say now that what 
they did was but to force me: whereby I perceive 
they are ashamed of their uncomely doings, and 
fear much lest the king's majesty should have 
information thereof; therefore they would no man 
to noise it. Will God forgive them their cruelty? 
Your heart in Christ Jesus. Farewell, and pray." 

She also wrote a beautiful prayer, in which 
occur the following expressions: "Now, Lord, I 
heartily desire of thee that thou wilt by thy most 
merciful goodness forgive them that violence 
which they do and have done to me. Open also 
thou their blind eyes, that they may hereafter do 
that thing in thy sight which is acceptable before 
thee." 

But the end was near; the 16th of July, 1546, 
arrived. The lady, unable to stand after the tor- 
ture which she had suffered, was borne in a chair 
to the stake, and bound to it with an iron chain. 



ANNE ASKEW. 269 

Before the flame was kindled she was offered a 
pardon if she would recant ; but she nobly re- 
plied, ' 4 1 come not hither to deny my Lord and 
Master. ' ' 

The lord mayor cried, l ' Fiat justitia P ' — let 
justice be done — and Anne Askew passed to that 
rest which remaineth for the people of God. 

Who can tell how many have been emboldened 
to confess Christ by the example of this youthful 
martyr ? In the words appended to the narrative 
in the volume of " Noble English Women," to 
which, we are chiefly indebted for our sketch, 

"Flung to the heedless winds, 

Or on the waters cast, 
The martyr's ashes watched 

Shall gathered be at last. 
And from the scattered dust 

Around us and abroad, 
Shall spring a plenteous seed 

Of witnesses for God." 



2;o HEROES AND HEROINES. 



LADY MARGARET DOUGLAS. 

This noble lady was a daughter of the Earl of 
Morton, and was born in Scotland in 1610, a few 
years after the death of Queen Elizabeth. The 
queen's successor, James the First of England 
and Sixth of Scotland, soon exerted his influence 
against the Presbyterian Church, an opposition 
continued by his successors, to the great sorrow 
and suffering of the subject of our sketch. At an 
early age she was married to Lord Lome, who 
afterwards became Marquis of Argyll. He was 
distinguished for his piety and for his adherence 
to the cause of Presbyterianism, and in his wife 
he found a noble helpmeet. Even in that age of 
suffering for Christ's cause and covenant they 
were noted for their deep piety. It is said that 
they not only observed family worship morning 
and evening, but that together they spent por- 
tions of the day in more private devotions. But 
her piety could not exempt her from the law 
1 ' that we must through much tribulation enter 
into the kingdom of God. ' ' 

Her first great grief was caused by the un- 
principled conduct of Charles II. His father, 



LADY MARGARET DOUGLAS. 271 

Charles L, had subverted the Presbyterian con- 
stitution of the Church of Scotland, legally estab- 
lished in 1592, by forcing upon it, in 1636, his 
primate Laud's Book of Canons and Liturgy, vir- 
tually making the Scottish church prelatic, and 
binding its ministry to doctrines which they re- 
garded as subversive of the Word of God and of 
civil and religious liberty. 

The tyranny and perfidy of Charles brought 
him to the block, January 30, 1649. His son, 
having arrived in Scotland, was crowned king at 
Scone, January 1, 1651, the Marquis of Argyll 
placing the crown on his head. In order to at- 
tract the support of Presbyterians, the young king 
engaged himself to the marquis' daughter, but, 
doubtless, with no thought of carrying out his 
agreement. After his engagement his conduct 
was such that the marquis felt compelled to re- 
prove him in private; whereupon he shed tears, 
and prayed that God would enable him to walk 
more circumspectly in the future. When the mar- 
chioness was informed of Charles' behavior she 
w T as greatly troubled; she felt that his tears were 
hypocritical, and that he never would forgive 
her husband for reproving him ; and the sequel 
showed that she read his character aright. In 
the meantime, her daughter was so mortified by 
the conduct of Charles that she became insane, 



272 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

and thus was a continued living trial to her 
mother. 

But still greater trials awaited the Marchion- 
ess of Argyll. A change took place in the sen- 
timents of the English people. Charles, who had 
escaped to the Continent, was recalled, and sailed 
from the Hague for London, arriving there in 
May, 1660. After being securely seated on the 
throne he remembered the presumption of Argyll 
in reproving him for his wickedness, and ordered 
his trial for high treason. This was the second 
severe affliction that his wife was called to en- 
dure; but, like Job, she held fast her trust in God, 
and c i in seasons of her deepest distress she betook 
herself to the throne of grace," where she ob- 
tained strength to sustain her, and also to enable 
her to comfort those around her. She felt sure, 
as soon as her husband was committed to prison, 
that Charles would be satisfied with nothing less 
than his life. She therefore arranged a plan for 
her husband's escape from prison, which would 
doubtless have been successful ; but when the 
time for its execution came, he said, ( ' I will not 
flee from the cause I have so publicly owned." 
He preferred to die, rather than seem to betray 
the cause of truth and righteousness. Accord- 
ingly, he was sentenced to death by the venal 
court which tried him. One of the princi- 



LADY MARGARET DOUGLAS. 273 

pal charges against him was his entering into 
"the solemn league and covenant" of Scotland 
with England, in 1643, which for a time won 
Scottish support for the Parliamentary cause 
against Charles I. We can easily imagine the 
distress of the marchioness on hearing of the sen- 
tence pronounced against her husband. She in- 
stantly sought his prison to sympathize with him, 
and was herself encouraged by his declaration, 
1 ' They may shut me in where they please, but 
they cannot shut out God from me," She next 
exerted all her energy to obtain a reprieve, but 
without avail ; her husband was executed May 
25, 1 661, and his head was fixed on the west end 
of the Tolbooth prison at Edinburgh. As the 
day of execution drew near, his wife spent a 
large portion of her time in prayer; and God 
heard her cry, and gave wonderful serenity to 
the mind of her husband, so that he could ad- 
dress his fellow-citizens from the scaffold with 
composure. 

In 1 68 1 the marchioness' cup of affliction was 
again filled by the unjust trial for treason, and 
the condemnation of her eldest son, who, how- 
ever, for a time escaped from the hands of his en- 
emies by flight to Holland. But a few years after 
his mother's death, his love for Protestantism led 
him to engage in the Duke of Monmouth's rising 

Heroes. 35 



274 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

against James II. , and, being taken prisoner, he 
was put to death as a traitor, June 30, 1685. 

Amid all the sorrows of the marchioness the 
grace of God sustained her; and for the seventeen 
years during which she survived her husband she 
devoted herself chiefly to relieving the necessities 
of the poor about her residence near Roseneath, a 
beautiful village on the Clyde. Her pastor testi- 
fied concerning her, after her death, that "she 
had endured a sore, a tedious and constant fight 
of afflictions, yet was she enabled to bear through 
with that faith, patience, submission, and Chris- 
tian magnanimity that were very visible, com- 
mendable, and exemplary ; and such diligence 
and assiduity in following the duties of praying, 
reading, hearing, praise, and all the acts of wor- 
ship; a constant waiting upon all ordinances and 
duties, public and private ; and even upon the 
weekly catechising, at which she delighted to be 
present, and by which she confessed that she prof- 
ited much. ' ' 

On March 13, 1678, she was taken home to her 
Father's house. She had lived nearly sixty-eight 
years, amid joys and sorrows, experiencing more 
than ordinary vicissitudes in her life, and passing 
through a period of cruel persecution to the 
church, a period when many of its noblest minis- 
ters, such as Guthrie, McKail, and Cargill, were 



LADY MA RGA RE T DOUG LA 6*. 275 

put to death because they maintained the suprem- 
acy of the Lord Jesus Christ as King and Head of 
his church, and would not cease preaching his gos- 
pel, though they had to do it as described by the 
Scottish poet James Grahame, in his admirable 
poem on the Sabbath: 

" No more 
The assembled people dared, in face of day, 
To worship God ; or even at the dead 
Of night, save when the wintry storms were fierce, 
And thunder-peals compelled the men of blood 
To couch within their dens." 

It was also in this period, however, that God 
visited his people in the revival at Shotts, and in 
the stirring of religious fervor leading to the adop- 
tion and subscription of the national 4 ' covenant, ' ' 
when sixty thousand people assembled, on Febru- 
ary 28, 1638, in the Grey friars' church and church- 
yard at Edinburgh, and put their names to the 
paper which engaged them at all hazards to sup- 
port their faith and principles to the end. All 
such scenes had special interest for the Marchion- 
ess of Argyll, and as a devoted Christian woman 
her name deserves a record in the history of the 
church. 



276 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



MRS. ISABELLA GRAHAM. 

NEAR Paisley, in the woods of Eldersley — a 
name famous in Scotland as the home of the pa- 
triot Sir William Wallace — between the years 
1750 and 1752, a little girl, under ten years of 
age, might frequently have been seen passing 
thoughtfully from and to her home. It was Isa- 
bella Marshall, afterwards the well-known phi- 
lanthropist, Mrs. Graham, going to or returning 
from the sacred spot where she first dedicated her- 
self to God, and where she delighted, as Ruther- 
ford would say, u to keep tryst" with Him, and 
pour into his ear all her childish troubles. Her 
father had sold his paternal estate near Hamilton, 
where Isabella was born in July, 1742, and re- 
moved to this pleasant home. The church with 
which he had there connected himself had then 
for its pastor Dr. Witherspoon, afterwards president 
of Princeton College, and one of the boldest advo- 
cates of American independence. It was through 
his influence, years afterwards, that the valuable 
services of Mrs. Graham were secured to the city 
of New York. 

Her godly grandfather, who was one of the 




***** 









MRS. ISABELLA GRAHAM. 277 

associates of Ebenezer and Ralph Erskine when 
they seceded from the Established Church of Scot- 
land in 1733 an d I 737> bequeathed to her one hun- 
dred pounds, and she requested that it might be 
used in securing her an education. Thus God 
provided the means for her necessary training for 
her noble work. In her twenty-third year she 
was married to Dr. John Graham, then a prac- 
tising physician in Paisley, but afterwards ap- 
pointed surgeon to the Royal American regiment 
stationed at Montreal. Here Dr. and Mrs. Gra- 
ham joined the regiment, which was soon, how- 
ever, removed to Fort Niagara, on Lake Ontario, 
where they remained four years. But, being des- 
titute of the public ordinances of religion and of 
the opportunity of engaging in work for Christ 
and his cause, Mrs. Graham confessed that she 
made no progress in the divine life. 

The regiment was next ordered to the island - 
of Antigua, to which place Dr. and Mrs. Graham, 
w r ith their little family, consisting of three infant 
daughters and two Indian nurse girls, began their 
journey. Dr. Graham hoped, however, to sell his 
commission in New York, purchase land on the 
Mohawk River, and remain in the northern colo- 
nies. But he failed in this project, and proceeded 
to his destination with his family. In 1774, while 
at Antigua, he was seized with an illness which 



278 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

terminated in his death. The fact that he was 
prepared for this event, that his trust was in the 
only Saviour, soothed somewhat the sorrow of the 
bereaved and lonely widow. She was indeed in 
a pitiable condition, left with three daughters, the 
oldest not over five years, with little property, and 
at a distance from home and friends. But she was 
roused from her sorrow to plan for her children, 
and such was her trust in God that she did not 
covet " an independent fortune." It was enough 
for her that she could daily tell her Heavenly 
Father of her wants, and feel sure he would sup- 
ply them. 

After the birth of a son, a few months after 
her husband's death, Mrs. Graham, with her four 
little ones and one of the Indian girls, embarked 
for Belfast, Ireland, intending to proceed thence 
to Scotland. The vessel in which she sailed 
"from Ireland was wrecked on the coast of Ayr, 
and the passengers and crew narrowly escaped 
with their lives. Mrs. Graham was the only one 
found free from fear during this time of peril. 
Peacefully she gathered her children around her, 
saying, " Now w T e shall all, in a few minutes, be 
with father in a better world. ' ' 

But her work was not yet done. The storm 
subsided and they were saved, and in a few days 
she reached her father's house. This was not the 



MRS. ISABELLA GRAHAM. 279 

large mansion of Eldersley, but a little thatched 
cottage of three apartments. Her father had been 
induced to become security for some of his friends, 
and was now reduced to poverty. Her mother 
had previously died, and her father was now add- 
ed to her children as one of her dependents. But 
God could help them all, and he did. 

Mrs. Graham soon removed to Paisley, where 
she opened a school and taught for a time. She 
had to make her breakfast and supper of por- 
ridge, and dinner of potatoes and salt. Yet she 
labored on until her Heavenly Father saw that 
she was prepared for her great work among the 
poor of New York, and then he opened the way 
for her to begin it. But those early years of her 
widowhood held many an anxious and sorrowful 
day, and it is said that the tears which she shed 
injured her eyes, and made it necessary for her 
to use spectacles at a very early age. 

She was persuaded by her friends to move to 
Edinburgh in 1780, to open a school for the edu- 
cation of young ladies. There she was very suc- 
cessful, and formed lasting friendships with such 
noble women as Viscountess Glenorchy, a sketch 
of whom is included in the present work. There 
Mrs. Graham's children received the greater part 
of their education, and there her father died, sur- 
rounded with all the comforts of a happy home. 



280 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

There she founded " the Penny Society," for the 
aid of the poor when sick, which has now become 
an important institution. To show the position 
of influence to which she attained in the capital 
of her native land, it may be mentioned that Lady 
Glenorchy arranged that whenever she should be 
laid on her dying-bed, Mrs. Graham must be sent 
for, no matter where she might be. She, accord- 
ingly, was present to close the eyes of her friend, 
and she was remembered by her in her w r ill. 

Dr. Witherspoon, the pastor of her girlhood, 
persuading Mrs. Graham that New York city 
would be a better field for her energies, she re- 
moved, in 1789, to New York, where for years 
she exerted a most powerful and beneficial influ- 
ence. In her school, which at once became pop- 
ular, she inculcated ( c the principles of religion as 
the only solid foundation for morality and vir- 
tue." As she had the faculty of winning the 
affection of her pupils, and impressing her prin- 
ciples upon their hearts, and as those pupils were 
from the most influential families of the city, she 
had the opportunity of doing a great work for our 
country. 

But she was not content with her school work, 
noble as it was. She sought other fields of use- 
fulness. In 1797 she instituted "the Society for 
the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children.' ' 



MRS. ISABELLA GRAHAM. 281 

She knew from her own experience the need of 
aid in such circumstances. Then, with Mrs. 
Hoffman and others, she established the u Orphan 
Asylum Society ;" then " the Magdalene Socie- 
ty;" then " the Society for the Promotion of In- 
dustry Among the Poor. ' ' She became also her- 
self a tract and Bible distributer. Before the in- 
stitution of the Bible and Tract Societies, she pub- 
lished tracts, purchased Bibles, and distributed 
them in her daily visits in the homes of the poor. 
She also commenced several Sabbath -schools, 
probably the first in America, though they were 
intended for adults. Thus her head, heart, and 
hands were busy in the work of the Lord. 

Mrs. Graham's three daughters developed into 
noble women, and were married to leading citi- 
zens in New York ; and no doubt her descendants 
are still prominent in the work of the Lord in our 
land. Her son, from the mistaken idea then prev- 
alent that women are not capable of training boys, 
was put under other influences, and did not live 
to honor the name of either his father or his mo- 
ther; and yet, judging from the last letter received 
from him by his loving mother, he probably died 
trusting in the Saviour " whose blood cleanseth 
from all sin." 

During Mrs. Graham's absence from the city, 
her daughter, Mrs. Bethune, was surprised at the 

Heroes. ~5 



282 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

frequent inquiries made for her by people whom 
she did not know; at length she asked some of 
the inquirers what they knew about Mrs. Gra- 
ham, and received the answer, u She used to visit 
our neighborhood, and relieve and comfort the 
poor; and we used to watch and see her pass, and 
bless her for her kindness; and we were afraid she 
was sick, as we had not seen her for so long." 
Verily, the poor arose and called her blessed. 

Like the apostle Paul, she could rejoice even 
in her tribulations. In a letter to a friend she 
wrote, u When matters have been at the worst 
with me as to this world, my triumphs in my God 
have been highest, and prospects for eternity 
brightest. ' ' 

But the years passed, and on July 19, 1814, 
the diligent hand and the loving heart were laid 
upon a bed of sickness which was to prove a bed 
of death. A dear friend was sent for, who had 
agreed with Mrs. Graham that the survivor should 
attend the dying-bed of the other. When Mrs. 
Chrystie entered the room she was greeted with 
the exclamation, " I am going to get the start of 
you. I am called home before you. It will be 
your office to fill our engagement. ' ' 

To her children Mrs. Graham said, "I have 
no more doubt of going to my Saviour than if I 
were already in his arms. My guilt is all trans- 



MRS. ISABELLA GRAHAM, 283 

ferred. He has cancelled all I owed; yet I could 
weep for sins against so good a God. ' ' 

For some days she lingered, conversing with 
her friends and enjoying their prayers and read- 
ings, especially some of the hymns which exalt 
the grace found in the Lord Jesus Christ; and on 
the morning of July 27, 1814, with a smile, and 
the word " peace, " she passed into the presence 
of her Saviour. 

Her departure was alluded to in the sermons 
of many of the leading ministers of the city. Her 
own pastor, Dr. Mason, delivered a memorial dis- 
course which was published; and it is believed 
that great good has been effected through its cir- 
culation, as well as through the little volume by 
Mrs. Graham's daughter, Mrs. Bethune, to which 
latter we are chiefly indebted for the facts of our 
sketch. How much may be accomplished by a 
life consecrated to the cause of God and humani- 
ty ! and how true it is that c { the memory of the 
just is blessed I" 



284 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



ELIZABETH FRY. 

Not quite a hundred years ago, a young lady 
at Earlham Hall, near Norwich, England, wrote 
in her diary, ' ' I am like a ship at sea without a 
pilot." She was mistaken; there was a Pilot 
very near her, One who loved her, One who was 
preparing her for a great work in the world, 
though she knew it not. 

Many a wanderer in this sin-stricken world 
feels as if he were helpless, useless, and alone, 
while all the time the Saviour is whispering in 
his ear, "Thou art a chosen vessel unto me to 
bear my name before those who know me not." 
Thus it was with Elizabeth Gurney; but she did 
not know the voice that called, and did not wish 
to hear it, until some years afterwards, when she 
learned the meaning of the expression, " My sheep 
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow 
me." 

She was born near Norwich, in May, 1780. 
Her father and mother belonged to the denomina- 
tion called ' c Friends, ' ' though they did not ad- 
here strictly to all their peculiar customs. Her 
father was a man of wealth, and was engaged in 



ELIZABETH FRY. 285 

the business of banking. Her mother was a great- 
granddaughter of Robert Barclay, a companion of 
George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends. 
To her, doubtless, we are indebted, next to the 
grace of God, for Elizabeth's noble character. 

Of that mother she wrote, years afterwards, 
' ' I loved my mother dearly. I used to be in con- 
stant fear that she would die. Often irL my little 
bed at night this would make me weep. I would 
go softly and watch her breathing, to convince 
myself that she was alive. We had a dear, good, 
wise mother, who wished nothing so much as that 
we might know the love and mercy of God in 
Christ, and the blessedness of his service." 

That dear mother was soon taken from her, 
though not before her image was deeply impressed 
upon Elizabeth's heart; but when the brothers 
and sisters at Earlham Hall no longer witnessed 
the godly example of their devoted mother, the 
Bible was not read as frequently or as seriously as 
in the days gone by. 

As Elizabeth grew older she began to realize 
the truth of the prophet's declaration, "The heart 
is deceitful above all things, and desperately wick- 
ed;" but how to get a new heart she did not 
know. 

At length William Savery, a Friend from 
America, came to preach in the meeting-house at 



286 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

Norwich. He told of a Saviour who wishes to be 
received into the heart, a Saviour who can cleanse 
it from sin, as well as save from sin's penalty. 
Listening to, him, Elizabeth was enabled at least 
to desire that Saviour to come in and dwell with 
her; and great was her joy for many weeks in the 
experience of what she thought was the Saviour's 
love. As she was now a young lady, it w&s 
thought proper, at about this time, that she 
should go to London and be initiated into the 
ways of the fashionable world. But in those 
ways she found no real enjoyment, though fasci- 
nated with them for a time; deep down in her 
heart she was desiring something better. So she 
returned, and commenced a school for the poor in 
the neighborhood of her home, also visiting the 
sick, and supplying their wants. It was a prep- 
aration for the greater work she was soon to un- 
dertake in London. In a short time she not only 
desired the Saviour, but rejoiced in him as hers; 
and after this she became the joy of the home cir- 
cle, as well as of the whole neighborhood. 

But the poor of Norwich and the school-chil- 
dren whom she had gathered were soon to be de- 
prived of her care. It was whispered that Eliza- 
beth Gurney was about to leave Earlham Hall 
and live in London, and ere long Joseph Fry, a 
wealthy banker, came and carried her away, and 



ELIZABETH FR Y. 287 

Elizabeth Gurney became Mrs. Fry, the name by 
which she is best known. Soon the poor found 
her in her new home; soon she found the poor in 
the lanes and alleys, and finally in the asylums 
and prisons ; and no doubt many said of her, ' ' The 
blessing of him that was ready to perish came 
upon" her, and she "caused the widow's heart 
tcTsing for joy." 

In the year 181 3 some members of the Society 
of Friends went to Newgate to visit certain per- 
sons there under sentence of death, and found the 
prison in a horrible condition. u There were in 
the prison four hundred women, old and young, 
with many little children, all crowded into four 
rooms. They were clothed in rags, with not a 
comfort apparently — no bedding, not even a pil- 
low, only boards raised from the floor. There 
they lived day and night, ate, cooked, washed, 
and slept, with no employment, nothing to read, 
spending the time in swearing and fighting, or 
clambering at the iron bars, begging from vis- 
itors, and spending the money for liquor at a shop 
kept in the prison for their use. ' ' 

Mrs. Fry was appealed to, and soon visited 
this sad scene, venturing alone to enter the rooms 
and counsel the lost inmates. After a while she 
proposed to teach them to read and write and 
work, so that when their terms of imprisonment 



288 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

should expire they might become respectable ser- 
vants, at least. But at that period she had few 
sympathisers. Her best friends would say to her, 
c ( Dear Mrs. Fry, what a wild plan you have got 
in your head ! Do you suppose that women who 
have broken the laws of the land will obey you ? 
If you give them work, they will steal it or tear 
it up. No, indeed, there is not the least hope for 
such degraded mortals. } ' But they did not under- 
stand the power of love as Mrs. Fry did. She 
persevered, and wonderful was her success. The 
poor, depraved women of the prisons could be 
reached by the gospel of love, and the effect of 
Mrs. Fry's visitations began to be the talk not 
only of London, but of the United Kingdom. 

One day, while she was reading the Scriptures 
aloud in prison, according to her custom, Sir Wil- 
liam Curtis, lord mayor of London, four aldermen, 
and the sheriffs, stepped into the room. Mrs. Fry 
stopped reading for a moment, but was requested 
to go on as usual. After the reading the prison- 
ers began their work, sewing or knitting, as the 
case might be. Their neat appearance, obedient 
manners, and happy faces, so different from what 
these gentlemen had been accustomed to see, per- 
fectly astonished them. The old beer-shop had 
been quite broken up by this time, and a respect- 
able notion and grocery store had taken its place. 



ELIZABETH FRY. 289 

The reading of the Word of God was greatly 
blessed to the prisoners, and many were converted 
to God by it. In the meantime Mrs. Fry was re- 
ceiving letters not only from different places in 
Great Britain, but even from Russia and India, 
inquiring concerning the mode of her work, that 
it might be put in practice in other prisons. 
Princes from the Continent visited her during the 
hours devoted to her work in prison, to learn the 
secret of her wonderful success ; and no doubt 
great reforms in the treatment of prisoners all over 
the world resulted. When King Kamehameha, 
of the Sandwich Islands, wanted to prevent intox- 
icating drinks from being exported to his domin- 
ions, he wrote to Mrs. Fry to secure his purpose. 
When, after a few years, she visited various coun- 
tries on the Continent, kings and nobles vied with 
each other in the effort to do her honor; and when 
the king of Prussia visited England he called to 
see Mrs. Fry at her own home, and dined with her 
and her family, being introduced to her seven 
daughters and daughters-in-law, her seven sons, 
and her twenty-five grandchildren. And here it 
is proper to say that in accomplishing the public 
work to which she devoted herself she did not 
neglect the training of her own children. 

Nor was what we have mentioned all her work. 
She took an interest in the coast-guard service, 

Heroea. 1*1 



290 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

and finally succeeded in introducing libraries into 
all the stations, 623 in all, at a cost of $7,500. 
Then she turned her attention to putting good 
reading matter on board the vessels which sailed 
from Falmouth harbor. Mrs. Fry was also far in 
advance of the majority of professed Christians in 
her ideas of religious toleration, and she was suc- 
cessful in aiding persecuted evangelical denomi- 
nations in Germany and Denmark. 

The actual work which she herself accom- 
plished was, however, scarcely so valuable as the 
example that she gave to the world of the true 
mode of helping the poor and depraved classes of 
the community. That example is now largely 
followed wherever Christianity prevails ; and it 
will continue to bear fruit until time shall be no 
longer. Mrs. Fry's life shows what noble deeds a 
woman may accomplish when her heart is filled 
with a love for Christ and her spirit imbued with 
the principles of the gospel. 

But time hastened on, Mrs. Fry reached her 
sixty-sixth year, and the messenger came, Octo- 
ber 12, 1845, to take her home, "to see the King 
in his beauty, ' ' and to experience the meaning of 
the text, ' c Blessed are the dead which die in the 
Lord." 



MARY LUNDIE DUNCAN. 291 



MARY LUNDIE DUNCAN. 

Mrs. SigournEy thus wrote concerning the 
subject of our present sketch: 

" Sweet bird of Scotia's tuneful clime, 

So beautiful and dear, 
Whose music gushed as genius taught, 
With heaven's own quenchless spirit fraught, 

I list thy strain to hear. 



" Meek Christian, it is well with thee, 

That where thy heart so long 
Was garnered up, thy home should be — 
Thy path with him who made thee free — 

Thy lay an angel's song." 

And well did she deserve this eulogy, as we 
shall see as we follow her in her short but de- 
voted life. She was born in the year 1814, in the 
Manse of Kelso, her father, Rev. Robert Lundie, 
being pastor of the parish. She early exhibited 
unusual natural ability, and before she was five 
years old she could read with understanding. 
Many incidents of her childish days show won- 
derful thoughtfulness. Once, for example, when 
she was reading in the Bible, with her brother, 
about Elymas the sorcerer being struck blind, her 
brother exclaimed, "I would have stricken him 



292 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

dumb for speaking against the gospel." She re- 
plied, " Oh no, Corrie; blinding him was best, for 
he might repent, and then he could speak for the 
gospel. ' ' 

From her own account, given in her thirteenth 
year, when she was permitted publicly to confess 
her Saviour at the communion table, the Holy 
Spirit convinced her of her need of the Saviour 
as early as her seventh year, and from that time 
prayer, praise, and doing her Master's will gave 
her delight. 

She very early showed a talent for writing 
poetry. The following is a specimen written in 
or before her twelfth year: 

" How sweet are those delightful dreams 

That charm in youth's first days of bloom! 
And sweet those radiant sunshine gleams 
That wander through surrounding gloom. 

" And bright are fancy's fairy bowers, 

And sweet the flowers that round she flings, 
When, in gay youth's romantic hours, 
She shows all fair and lovely things. 

" But, ah ! there is a land above, 

Whose pleasures never fade away ; 
A holy land of bliss and love, 
Where night is lost in endless day. 

" And in the blaze of that blest day, 

All earthly bowers we deemed so bright 
Must fade, as when the sun's first ray 
Dispels the darkness of the night." 



MARY LUNDIE DUNCAN. 293 

After spending some years in London in a 
boarding-school, where she set a good example 
of meekness, piety, and adherence to principle, 
she returned, in her seventeenth year, to Kelso, 
and began work in the Sabbath-school as a teach- 
er. This work was to her a delight, as is evident 
from the following extract from a letter to a 
friend : ' c There is far more peace and satisfaction 
in living to be useful than in anything else, if the 
action spring from that animating motive, love to 
Him who so much loves us. ' ' Very soon after this 
w r as written she greatly needed the sustaining 
power of divine love, for her father w r as suddenly 
called to his heavenly home, in April, 1832. She 
was deeply wounded by the sudden blow, but she 
knew where healing could be found, not being a 
stranger to the great Physician, who can bind up 
broken hearts, as well as save souls. 

Some time after this she became engaged to 
Mr. Duncan, a licentiate of the Established 
Church of Scotland, and son of a special friend 
of her father. Anxiously he looked, waited, and 
prayed for an appointment to a field of labor, that 
the relation of husband and wife might be con- 
summated. At length he was presented to the 
parish of Urr by the patron, but it was just at the 
time when many in the Established Church were 
beginning to protest against patronage ; and 



294 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

though the congregation at Urr had no special 
objection to Mr. Duncan, they nevertheless re- 
jected him, and were sustained by the church 
courts. 

Thus Miss Lundie's fond hopes, when almost 
realised, were dashed to the ground. Her disap- 
pointment, however, was the means of calling 
forth some letters which, we think, cannot be 
read without leaving on the heart of the reader a 
desire for greater consecration to God. 

But by-and-by the dark cloud was lifted. A 
call from the people of Cleish, and the presenta- 
tion from its patron, were given to Mr. Duncan, 
and the way was thus opened for the union of 
these two loving hearts. In 1836 they were mar- 
ried, and went to their new home and work. 
Soon after Mrs. Duncan wrote in her diary, "Our 
income amply supplies our present wants, and 
when the thought of the future comes over me, I 
turn it into a prayer for increase of faith, for what 
have the future and I to do with each other? 
How numerous are our blessings ! His people 
love him, the; surrounding families here have re- 
ceived me kindly, we have lovely scenery around, 
and are engaged in the most honorable work that 
can employ mortal man. Shall we not raise here 
our Ebenezer, and bless the L,ord who hath done 
so great things for us?" 



MARY LUND1E DUNCAN. 295 

Heartily she engaged in the work of the par- 
ish with her husband, as may be seen from the 

following extract from a letter to her friend B : 

"I have just begun to distribute tracts, and hope 
these little silent visitors may prove messengers 
of peace to some around us. I have only under- 
taken fifteen houses, as my time will hardly ad- 
mit of more. I like the work very much, as it 
enables me to speak of eternal things, making an 
opening for me. There are in the parish a few 
drops of blessing, but, oh, where is the refreshing 
shower that should make our wilderness blossom 
as the rose?" 

Domestic work now began to claim more at- 
tention from Mrs. Duncan. It pleased her Heav- 
enly Father to send her a little daughter, and 
then a son, to train for Him ; and nobly did she 
fulfil her task. Among other things, she ad- 
dressed to them hymns which, doubtless, in after 
years were regarded with affectionate reverence. 
We give a few verses selected from several: 

"Jesus, Saviour, pity me; 
Hear me when I cry to thee ! 
I Ve a very naughty heart, 
Full of sin in every part ; 
I can never make it good ; 
Wilt thou wash me in thy blood ? 
Jesus, Saviour, pity me ; 
Hear me when I cry to thee I" 



296 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

"Jesus, tender Shepherd, hear me ; 
Bless thy little lamb to-night ; 
Through the darkness be thou near me, 
Watch my sleep till morning light." 

" What sound is this that gently falls 

Upon the quiet air ? 
It is the Sabbath bell that calls 

Men to the house of prayer ; 
For there God promises to meet 
All those who worship at his feet." 

Her last poetic production was addressed to 
her brother George, some nine months before her 
death, on his leaving to seek restoration to health 
in Australia. It ends as follows: 

" But go, heaven's blessing on thy path attending, 
Where nature's glories shine on frozen hearts; 
And as the sun, the veil of darkness rending, 

His morning splendor o'er creation darts, 
May gospel beams diffuse resplendent day, 
To guide the hapless flock that darkling stray. 

" How beautiful on earth's dark hills appearing, 
Day's harbinger, the messenger of peace ! 
How sweet his earnest voice the wanderer cheering, 

That tells of morn arising, ne'er to cease. 
Bear thou those tidings o'er the heaving main, 
And turned to songs shall be our parting pain." 

She had such enjoyment in her work, her hus- 
band, and her children, that she felt that her hap- 
piness was too great to be long continued in this 
sin-stricken world, where we all need to be re- 
minded that this is not our rest. And her premo- 



MARY L UNDIE D UNCAN. 297 

nition was soon verified. The 5th of January, 
1840, was drawing nearer and nearer — the day 
that was to mark the limit of earth's joys and sor- 
rows to her. She was only twenty-five years old, 
but her work was done, the crown was ready for 
her brow, the shining messengers were commis- 
sioned to take her home. She was laid to rest in 
" God's acre," in the parish churchyard of Cleish, 
until the resurrection of the just. She left behind 
her an example, telling how much may be done 
by the quiet, every-day life of a consecrated Chris- 
tian woman. Her life was not like the sudden 
flash of a meteor over the sky, but rather like the 
rays of the morning sun, shining brighter and 
brighter until its meridian splendor is attained. 
We cannot point to any wonderful work accom- 
plished by her at any particular time, but we have 
no doubt that many were born into the kingdom of 
heaven through her instrumentality; and though 
dead, she yet speaks in the memoir of her life 
compiled by her loving mother. 



38 



293 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



HANNAH MORE. 

In a small thatched cottage in the parish of 
Stapleton, a few miles from Bristol, England, 
were passed the early years of one who, by her 
pen, was to exert a powerful influence upon soci- 
ety at home and abroad, an influence extending 
to all classes, from the highest to the lowliest. 

Hannah More was born at Stapleton, Febru- 
ary 2, 1745, being the fourth of a family of five 
daughters. Her father, having lost his fortune in 
a lawsuit, was the master of the village school, 
and there his daughters received the first rudi- 
ments of their education. Hannah showed from 
her earliest years wonderful precocity, and her 
father, encouraged by it, began to teach her his 
favorite Latin. Amazed at her rapid progress, he 
soon ceased, however, lest she should become a 
pedant; but through the persuasion of her mother 
the study was again permitted. 

The income of a village school was not suffi- 
cient to provide for five young ladies in idleness, 
and the three elder daughters determined to fol- 
low their father's profession in Bristol. A private 
'school was opened by them, in which they were 



HA NNA H MORE. 299 

very successful, and after a while little Hannah 
became a pupil, and afterwards a teacher. Her 
superior abilities, and especially her conversational 
power, attracted attention and secured her many 
friends. At the age of seventeen her first volume, 
a pastoral drama, designed for recitation in schools, 
w r as issued, under the title of u The Search After 
Happiness. ' ' 

The sisters were successful beyond expectation 
in their school, and after a while Sarah and Han- 
nah determined to visit London and become ac- 
quainted with the noted men and women there. 
The famous "Blue Stocking Club" was then in 
its glory, and included among its members Mrs. 
Montagu, Mrs. Chapone, Elizabeth Carter, and 
others; to these Hannah More was introduced, and 
among them she made many life-long friends. She 
was also kindly received by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 
Dr. Johnson, David Garrick, and his wife. Mr. 
and Mrs. Garrick especially pleased her, and when 
visiting London she often made her home at their 
house. Probably through the friendship of Gar- 
rick she was led to write dramas for the stage; 
several of these were very successful, and at the 
time she thought she was doing something to pro- 
mote good morals. But soon she had occasion to 
change her mind, and she afterwards wrote, "I 
was led to entertain what I must now think a de- 



3 oo HEROES AND HEROINES. 

lusive hope, that the stage, under certain regula- 
tions, might be converted into a school of virtue; 
that though a bad play would always be a bad 
play, yet the representation of a good one might 

become not only harmless, but useful The 

fruits of the Spirit and the fruits of the stage, if 
the parallel were followed up, would exhibit as 
pointed a contrast as human imagination could 
conceive." 

Both the church and the world have changed 
somewhat in manners since that period. The fol- 
lowing is a description of an assemblage at the 
house of a bishop of the Church of England : 
4 ' Conceive to yourself one hundred and fifty or 
two hundred people met together, dressed in the 
extremity of fashion, painted as red as baccha- 
nals, poisoning the air with perfumes, treading 
on each other's gowns, making the crowd they 
blame, not one in ten able to get a chair, pro- 
testing they are engaged to ten other places, and 
lamenting the fatigue they are not obliged to en- 
dure; ten or a dozen card-tables crammed with 
dowagers of quality, grave ecclesiastics, and yel- 
low admirals; and you have an idea of an assem- 
bly." Nor were these assemblages wholly con- 
fined to week-days. But Hannah More abso- 
lutely refused ever to attend one on Sunday. 

She was a great admirer of Dr. Johnson, whom 



HA NNA H MORE, 30 1 

she often met, and was cordially received by the 
gruff old moralist. She describes his last days as 
follows : c ( How solemn are the closing scenes of 
this dying man. He is styled the Moralist. Jus- 
tice, truth, virtue w T ere the pillars of his charac- 
ter; at all times and in all places he was loyal to 
his convictions of duty and reverent to God. In 
the w T ide grasp of his clear, calm, comprehensive 
mind he everywhere discerned a moral govern- 
ment and recognized a righteous Governor; his 
conscience, unswerved by passion or self-indul- 
gence, spoke solemnly and was heard; the fear of 
God was upon him; but now, as the curtains of 
death close around his brave heart and unclouded 
intellect, he lies helpless, wrestling for hope, pant- 
ing for peace, raising his eyes w T ith a fearful look- 
ing-for of judgment The man whose intel- 
lectual pow r ers had awed all around him was now 
trembling, hopeless, unless external help is ob- 
tained. But that help was obtained, and he could 
declare that, though there was no salvation but in 
the Lamb of God, there was salvation there." 

The success of Miss More's w T ri tings furnished 
her with a comfortable income, and she purchased 
a thatched cottage, with a flower-garden, at Cow- 
slip Green, a few miles from Bristol. Here, w r ith 
Patty, her younger sister, she took up her resi- 
dence, and began her attack on the ungodly and 



302 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

immoral usages and customs of the times. Her 
first volume from this new home was entitled, 
4 ' Thoughts on the Importance of the Manners of 
the Great to General Society. ' ' It appeared anon- 
ymously, in 1788, and was attributed to the Bish- 
op of London, William Wilberforce, and others. 
The book was a success, seven editions being sold 
in a few months. Two years afterwards the au- 
thor's " Estimate of the Religion of the Fashion- 
able World" appeared, in which she attacked the 
too common custom of putting formal observances 
of Christian duty for heart-piety ; the giving of a 
few dollars to a worthy cause, in the place of con- 
fession of sin and humble devotion to the divine 
Redeemer. The book was highly commended, 
and is worth reading still. 

The writer was too noble a worker to remain 
hidden, and Wilberforce sought her out to engage 
her influence for the work to which he was at this 
time especially devoted — the abolition of the 
slave trade and the emancipation of the slaves in 
the West India Islands. He found her a willing 
and efficient helper, for she had a heart and a 
hand for every good work. 

Mr. Wilberforce visited her in her home at 
Cowslip Green, and in exploring the romantic 
cliffs of Cheddar in the neighborhood, he found 
that in that village, so near the city of Bristol, 



HA NNA H MORE. 303 

distressing poverty and heathenish ignorance and 
immorality abounded. With a sad heart he re- 
turned to the cottage of his hostess, and on con- 
sultation with her, it was determined to do some- 
thing to alleviate the condition of the villagers, 
Mr. Wilberforce becoming responsible for the ex- 
pense of conducting the enterprise. This was 
the beginning of that system of mission-schools 
which the sisters inaugurated, and which accom- 
plished so much for the poor of the parishes in 
the neighborhood of their dwellings. The need 
of such schools can easily be seen from the fact 
that in a neighboring parish the curate was fre- 
quently intoxicated, and sometimes unable to 
preach on account of black eyes received in ale- 
house fights. Happily, such clergymen would 
not now be tolerated in any parish in England. 

Such, however, was the opposition of the peo- 
ple to anything like evangelical religion, that it 
required tact equal to that now necessary in our 
foreign missionaries to accomplish the requisite 
work. But Hannah More was equal to the task ; 
a noble work was done in several adjoining par- 
ishes, and an example was set which doubtless 
has been followed by philanthropists in other 
places. 

The period had now arrived when the French 
Revolution filled the prisons of France, deluged 



304 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

the streets of Paris with blood, and produced dis- 
content among the workingmen in the neighbor- 
ing kingdoms, including England. 

Paley was appealed to, to write a book to 
quiet the excitement, and he published "Reasons 
for Co.ntentment, ' ' for which he was made a pre- 
bend of St. Paul's ; but the work was better 
suited to the minds of the educated class than to 
the masses of the people. Something simple, but 
full of wit and good common sense, was needed ; 
and Hannah More, under the assumed name of 
" Will Chip," supplied it. In a few weeks after 
publication, her " Village Politics" found its 
w T ay to palace, hall, and cottage, and the king, 
lords, bishops, and commons were loud in its 
praise. The Bishop of London said of it, "I look 
upon Mr. Chip as one of the finest writers of the 
age ; this work 'alone will immortalize him, and, 
what is better still, I trust it will immortalize the 
constitution. ' ' 

Soon after this Mrs. More commenced the 
publication of the " Cheap Repository," a month- 
ly magazine, in which appeared her celebrated 
tract, u The Shepherd of Salisbury Plains," and 
also " Black Giles the Poacher," " Sorrowful 
Sam," and such ballads as " The Two Weavers," 
which illustrate the Christian tact by which she 
could reach the masses, and inspire them with 



HANNAH MORE. 305 

contentment in the present and hopefulness for 
the future. 

Mrs. More's pen was now kept busy, and 
whatever she produced was at once widely read, 
so that perhaps she was the most influential per- 
son in the kingdom as far as forming the character 
of the people was concerned. Her popularity 
also secured her funds with which she could 
prosecute her charitable work, and make herself 
and her sisters comfortable ; and, at the same 
time, it enabled her to entertain the numerous 
friends who came to see her. But for this latter 
purpose her little cottage was now too small. 
She accordingly built a new mansion, and called 
it il Barley Wood ;" it was a short distance from 
the old home, but in a far more desirable situa- 
tion, overlooking the Wrington valley and the 
Atlantic ocean, with islands in the distance. To 
this beautiful home all the sisters removed, closing 
the school and house in Bristol, in 1801. Here 
Mrs. More still plied her pen, devoted to seeking 
the temporal and eternal welfare of her readers, 
and produced such works as ' c Coelebs in Search 
of a Wife," " Practical Piety," " Christian Mor- 
als, ' ' etc. Here also she entertained her friends, 
among whom were Dr. Porteus, Bishop of London, 
John Newton, William Wilberforce, and noted 
visitors from our own and other lands. 

Heroes. 'IQ 



306 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

After nearly twelve years in this loved home, 
death called Mary, the oldest sister, away. Eliz- 
abeth was next removed, and then Sally, Hannah 
and her yonnger sister Patty being left to manage 
their home and look after the schools, where they 
continued to do a great work for Christ and hu- 
manity. Other friends were also called away, 
and among them Mrs. Garrick, in her hundredth 
year. Finally, in 1819, the much-loved and 
sprightly Patty was taken away, after a very 
brief but painful illness, and Hannah was left to 
finish her journey alone. But she did not cease 
her work. She scattered her wealth with a 
liberal hand, and by an extensive correspondence 
did much to foster many a good cause. 

After enjoying the beauties of ' ' Barley Wood ' ' 
for twenty-seven years, Mrs. More was persuaded 
to take a smaller house in Clifton, where she 
still entertained her friends and gave her voice 
and pen to the proclamation of the I^ord Jesus 
Christ as the sinner's Saviour, and of Chris- 
tianity as the antidote to the world's woe. At 
last, on September 7th, 1833, in the eighty-ninth 
year of her age, she fell asleep in Jesus, and her 
body was consigned to its rest in the family vault 
at Wrington. 



MA R Y SOMER V1LLE. 307 



MARY SOMERVILLE. 

LESS than a hundred years ago, a little girl 
in Burntisland, Scotland, discovered an old book 
filled with such characters asx+y=a } 12^+77= 
xoa. She was very much astonished at the curi- 
ous book, and many were her inquiries until she 
found out what was the use of it. By-and-by she 
was introduced to Euclid, a very unusual study 
at that time for a woman. But she persevered in 
her application to mathematics, until Mary Som- 
erville was known as one of the first mathemati- 
cians of her day. 

She was born at Burntisland, on the Frith of 
Forth, opposite Edinburgh. Her father was a 
naval officer, w T ho distinguished himself in sev- 
eral engagements, and was afterwards known as 
Admiral Sir William Fairfax. He was neces- 
sarily much absent from home, and the training 
of his children devolved chiefly upon their mo- 
ther, who taught them to read the Bible and to 
say their prayers* morning and evening, and al- 
lowed them to run wild the rest of the time. 
Accordingly, Mary Fairfax spent a large por- 
tion of her time on the seashore, watching the 



308 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

birds and the shellfish, and admiring the sea- 
weeds. 

After a while she was sent to a boarding- 
school. Schools then were in great measure 
places of punishment, rather than of education; 
and especially was this true of those provided for 
girls. Mary was kept under, severe restraint, 
• l put in steel stays and busks and rods to improve 
her figure," and required to commit to memory 
page after page of Johnson's Dictionary. But 
though her school education was limited, she 
found means to improve herself; and, fortunately, 
she met with a friend in Dr. Somerville, of Jed- 
burgh, who encouraged and aided her in her 
efforts to become a thorough scholar. Such en- 
couragement was then doubly welcome ; for it 
was considered ' c going out of the female prov- 
ince n for a woman to be a mathematician or a 
classical scholar. Miss Fairfax became an adept 
in Latin and Greek, as well as in mathematics; 
but she did not neglect those acquirements which 
are specially attractive in her sex, such as music 
and painting. 

While still young, in her twenty-fourth year, 
she was married to Mr. Samuel Gray, Russian 
consul for Great Britain, and took up her abode 
in London. But her marriage did not put an end 
to her studies, for she soon undertook to obtain 



MA R Y SOMER VILLE. 309 

a knowledge of French, German, and Italian, 
that she might have access to scientific works in 
those languages. 

Her married life lasted only three years, and 
on her husband's death she returned to her native 
land. Being left in independent circumstances, 
she was able to .pursue any line of study she 
chose, however her friends might blame her for 
what they considered unwomanly conduct. Her 
uncle, Dr. Somerville, of whom we have already 
spoken, was in advance of his day in his views 
concerning the duties and privileges of women, 
and was ready at all times to defend her. In 181 2 
she was married to his son, a physician, and he, 
following the example of his father, entered with 
zeal into all his wife's studies, and from this time 
forth her life was a ' ' happy round of scientific 
achievements. ' f 

Returning again to London, where her hus- 
band was professionally engaged, she pursued her 
studies, and in 1831 published her u Mechanism 
of the Heavens." This was followed in about 
two years by the work to which she owes her 
chief celebrity, "The Connection of the Physical 
Sciences," a work that won its way, notwith- 
standing the fact that its author was a woman, 
until it became a class-book at the universities. 
Honors came to Mrs. Somerville from foreign sci- 



3io HEROES AND HEROINES, 

entific societies, as well as from those at home, 
and a pension of two hundred pounds, afterwards 
increased to a larger amount, was granted her by 
the British government. To her earlier w r orks 
she in course of time added others, such as 4 1 Phys- 
ical Geography," and " Molecular and Micro- 
scopic Science." 

Mrs. Somerville's health failing, she was com- 
pelled to seek a more genial clime, and she spent 
some time in Rome, Florence, Naples, and Gene- 
va, with her husband and two daughters, who had 
now grown up to be their parents' companions 
and friends, as well as loved children. 

Mrs. Somerville's great abilities and honors 
did not turn her thoughts away from her fellow- 
creatures and her God. She early espoused the 
anti-slavery and anti-press-gang causes, and in no 
measured terms denounced the cruelties of vivi- 
section, though performed in the interests of sci- 
ence. Education for the poor, and a more liberal 
education for women, also found in her an able 
and zealous advocate. 

Her daughter writes of her that when nearing 
the end of her journey "her mind was constantly 
occupied with thoughts of religion, and she lifted 
her heart yet more frequently to that good Father 
whom she had loved so fervently all her life, and 
in whose merciful care she fearlessly trusted in 



MARY SOMERVILLE. .311 

her last hour. ' ' To a friend who had sent her an 
essay on "Life After Death," she replied, u God 
bless you, dearest friend, for your irresistible ar- 
guments of our 4 immortality ;' not that I ever 
doubted it, but as I shall soon enter my ninety- 
third year, your words are an inexpressible com- 
fort" 

She took a special interest, even in her ninety- 
second year, and when only a short distance from 
the end of her journey on earth, in the discoveries 
of science. 

One of her chief regrets was that she would 
1 ' not see the distance of the earth from the sun 
determined by the observation of the transit 
of Venus, and learn the source of the most re- 
nowned of rivers, the discovery of which will im- 
mortalize the name of Dr. Livingstone." But 
while she did not live to obtain this information 
on earth, who can say that it is not already hers? 

On the morning of November 29, 1872, she 
quietly fell asleep. Her daughters, watching by 
her bed, hardly knew the time of her passing 
away. But her noble example still lives. Let 
it stimulate others to attempt great things for 
Christ and humanity. 



312 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



ANN HASSELTINE JUDSON. 

NKAR the beginning of the present century 
there were two bright, happy girls attending the 
academy in Bradford, Massachusetts, Miss Atwood 
and Miss Hasseltine. They afterwards became 
celebrated for their devotion to the work of mis- 
sions, at that early period when, even more than 
now, it involved untold sacrifices, and when it 
was not as fully appreciated by the church at 
large as it is at present. Nevertheless, at the 
call of duty, these young women bravely under- 
took the work, the one as Mrs. Newell, and the 
other as Mrs. Judson ; and now their graves, in 
the Isle of France and in Burmah, tell of their 
sacrifice of life itself for the sake of the gospel. 

Miss Hasseltine was born in Bradford, Decem- 
ber 22, 1789. She was brought up in accordance 
with the forms of religion, and was largely con- 
trolled by its principles ; yet for sixteen years she 
had no realizing sense of her sinfulness. Soon 
after she reached the age of sixteen, to use her 
own words, "the solemn truth that she must 
obtain a new heart or perish for ever impressed 
itself upon her mind," and she determined to 



ANN HASSELT1NE JUDSON. 313 

secure peace and pardon ; but how to find them 
she did not know. She tried self-imposed pen- 
ances, and spent many weary hours trying to 
please God ; but by this method she found no 
peace. At length, however, light broke into her 
mind : she saw Christ as the atoning Lamb of 
God, and was enabled to rejoice in the hope of 
salvation through his name. She was now in a 
new world, inspired by new hopes, and controlled 
by new motives, and she found great delight in 
the study of what some might regard as heavy 
theology. After leaving the Bradford academy, 
she engaged in teaching school, and manifested 
great interest in the spiritual, as well as the tem- 
poral, welfare of her pupils. 

At the same period God's Spirit had been 
operating on the hearts of Messrs. Judson, Newell, 
Mills, Nott, and others, inclining them to seek the 
salvation of the heathen ; and they laid their views 
of this matter before the General Congregational 
Association, which met at Bradford in 1810. At 
this meeting Miss Hasseltine made the acquain- 
tance of Mr. Judson, and in the fall of the same 
year she received an offer of marriage from him. 
After careful and prayerful consideration of the 
question, she decided to cast in her lot with him 
in the arduous work of seeking the salvation 
of the people of India, for whose souls there 

Heroes. AQ 



3 1 4 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

were at that period few to care, while there were 
many to oppose sending them the gospel. No 
doubt she expected to meet with trials and sor- 
rows in her work, but we have no idea that she 
imagined half the sufferings that she was to 
endure. And yet if she had realized them all, 
such was her consecration, such her pity for lost 
souls, that she would, no doubt, have braved all, 
and given her life willingly for Christ's cause and 
kingdom. 

Mr. Judson did not picture to Miss Hasseltine 
a life of ease and comfort in their far-off home 
among the heathen. On the contrary, he wrote 
to her before their marriage, 4 ' If our lives are 
preserved, and our attempt prospered, we shall 
next New Year's Day be in India, and, perhaps, 
wish each other a happy New Year in the uncouth 
dialect of Hindostan or Burmah. We shall no 
more see our kind friends around us, or enjoy the 
conveniences of civilized life, or go to the house 
of God with those who keep holy day; but swarthy 
countenances will everywhere meet our eye, the 
jargon of an unknown tongue will assail our ears, 
and we shall witness the assemblies of the heathen 
to celebrate the worship of idol gods. We shall 
be weary of the world, and wish for wings like a 
dove, that we may fly away and be at rest. We 
shall probably experience seasons when we shall 



A NN HA SSEL TINE JUDSON. 3 1 5 

be ( exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. ' We 
shall see many dreary, disconsolate hours, and 
feel a sinking of spirits, an anguish of mind, of 

which we now can form little conception 

But whether we shall be honored and mourned by 
strangers, God only knows. At least, either of 
us w T ill be certain of one mourner. In view of 
such scenes shall we not pray with earnestness, 
- Oh, for an overcoming faith, '?" etc. 

But Miss Hassel tine's brave heart was not dis- 
mayed by even such possibilities. Accordingly, 
the marriage took place February 5, 181 2, and 
on the next day Mr. Judson, with others, was 
ordained at Salem, Mass., as a missionary of the 
cross to India. In the same month, also, Mr. and 
Mrs. Judson sailed for India, arriving at Calcutta 
in June of the same year. 

During the voyage they had occasion to ex- 
amine the question of baptism, and changed their 
views in respect to 'it; but their work was too 
great, and their sacrifices too many, for them to 
be considered as merely denominational mission- 
aries. Every denomination delights to refer to 
them as missionaries who have reflected honor on 
the church at large. They were welcomed to 
India by the venerable Dr. Carey, an English 
Baptist missionary, and found a home in the 
English mission-house at Serampore. 



316 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

Soon, however, the American missionaries 
were ordered by the authorities under the East 
India Company to return to the United States. 
They were finally permitted to go to the Isle of 
France; and w 7 hen they reached there, after many 
provoking delays, their friend Mr. Newell, who 
had arrived some weeks before, met them with 
the sad intelligence that his wife was now in her 
grave, instead of teaching the natives, as she had 
hoped, concerning the only Saviour. But though 
the Judsons sorrowed with their friend, they were 
not dismayed ; they were confident that God was 
ordering all things wisely. 

After some delay Mr. and Mrs. Judson found 
opportunity to sail for Rangoon in Burmah, where 
they arrived in July, 1813, and on June 27, 1819, 
their first convert was baptized. We can easily 
imagine the weary, patient, prayerful waiting of 
these missionaries to see the fruit of their labor. 
They sowed in tears, and by-and-by the reaping- 
time came. They waited long, but now thou- 
sands of converts are found in that once-be- 
nighted land. With the success of the mission, 
opposition to it was aroused, and Dr. Judson 
thought it wise to visit Ava, the residence of the 
king, to obtain from him protection. In this he 
failed, and had to commence his work anew, sub- 
ject to increased annoyances. 



ANN HASSEL TINE JUDSON. 3 1 7 

The health of Mrs. Judson finally broke down 
amid her sufferings and labors, and she found it 
necessary to return to her native land. She ar- 
rived in New York in 1822, and by means of pri- 
vate and public letters did much to excite a mis- 
sionary spirit among the churches. The following 
year, her health having been partially restored, 
she returned to India. Previous to this, however, 
the mission at Rangoon had been reinforced by 
Dr. Price, a medical missionary; and the fame of 
his cures had reached the palace at Ava. He was 
sent for, together with Dr. Judson, and persuaded 
to commence mission work in that city; and Dr. 
Judson removed there as soon as Mrs. Judson re- 
turned to Rangoon. 

Very soon after the settlement of the mission- 
aries in Ava, war was declared by the British 
against Burmah. Dr. Judson and others were 
arrested under the charge of being spies in the 
employ of the British government, and were 
thrust into the death -prison and loaded with 
chains. Mrs. Judson, also, was guarded in her 
own house by soldiers, so that for a few days she 
could do little to relieve the sufferings of her hus- 
band, or to save his life. She found means, how- 
ever, of communicating with some of the officials, 
and, by a liberal use of money, secured some mit- 
igation of her husband's sufferings in prison. She 



31 & HEROES AND HEROINES. 

thus describes her labors for seven long months, 
during which she was every day uncertain what 
the result would be: 

"The oppressions to which your brother and 
the other white prisoners were subject are inde- 
scribable. Sometimes sums of money were de- 
manded, sometimes pieces of cloth and handker- 
chiefs ; at other times an order would be issued 
that the white foreigners should not speak to 
each other, or have any communication with 
their friends without. Then, again, the servants 
were forbidden to carry in their food without an 
extra fee. Sometimes for days and days together 
I could not go into the prison till after dark, when 
I had two miles to walk in returning to the house. 
Oh, how many times have I returned from that 
dreary prison at nine o'clock at night, solitary 
and worn out with fatigue and anxiety, and 
thrown myself down in that same rocking-chair 

which you and Deacon L provided for me in 

Boston, and endeavored to invent some new 
scheme for the release of the prisoners. " 

At the end of this period Dr. Judson was re- 
moved, with other prisoners, to Oung-pon-la, 
where his treatment was even more severe; and 
if Mrs. Judson had not followed him, and with 
wonderful tact found means of helping him, he 
could not possibly have survived. Having found 



ANN HA SSEL TINE JUDSON. 3 1 9 

a home in a hut near the prison, she did much 
for the comfort of all the prisoners; but she was 
soon taken very sick, and lay at the point of 
death, unable to nurse her little babe; and had 
she not succeeded in bribing the jailer to allow 
Dr. Judson to leave the prison for an hour each 
day to carry poor little Maria around to nursing 
mothers, that she might suck a few drops of milk, 
the child would have died. 

The end of this fearful suffering came, how- 
ever, and Dr. Judson was released to act as inter- 
preter between the Burmese and the British. Mrs. 
Judson then returned to Ava, but was prostrated 
with spotted fever, and narrowly escaped death. 
Providentially, Dr. Price was at the same time 
released from prison, and was able to supply her 
with the proper remedies, and thus she was again 
restored, but to find that Dr. Judson had again 
been committed to prison. She thus describes 
her feelings at that period : 

"If ever I felt the value and efficiency of 
prayer, I did so at this time. I could not rise 
from my couch ; I could make no efforts to secure 
my husband; I could only plead with that great 
and powerful Being who has said, ' Call upon me 
in the day of trouble, and I will hear, and thou 
shalt glorify me, ' and who made me at this time 
feel so powerfully his promise that I became com- 



320 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

posed, feeling assured that my prayers would be 
answered. ' ' 

And those prayers were answered; the same 
Holy Spirit who produced calmness and confi- 
dence in her mind, influenced the minds of the 
heathen around her, and Dr. Judson was saved. 
After the lapse of a few more days the missionary 
and his wife were guests of Sir Archibald Camp- 
bell, by whom reparation for lost property was ob- 
tained from the authorities of Ava; and, finally, 
after an absence of twenty-seven months, they 
reached the mission-house at Rangoon. 

A new mission was commenced at Amherst, 
the capital of the territory ceded to England at 
the close of the war. Here Mrs. Judson was left 
with friends, while her husband accompanied the 
English envoy to Ava to arrange a commercial 
treaty, and secure, if possible, a clause favorable 
to mission w r ork. But Dr. Judson was to see his 
wife's face no more. Before the negotiations 
were completed she was taken to the rest above, 
having been seized with a fever, from which, on 
account of her debilitated condition, resulting 
from her sufferings at Ava, she was unable to 
rally. Though her husband was absent, she was 
tenderly cared for, and so was her little Maria, 
who six months afterwards joined her mother in 
the spirit world. 



ANN HASSELTINE JUDSON 321 

Dr. Judson wrote to his sister in America, 
1 1 Weep with me, my dear sister and parents, for 
my beloved wife is no more. She died at Am- 
herst, October 24, 1826, of remittent fever, and is 

buried near the spot where she first landed 

We will not mourn as those who have no hope, 
* for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God 
bring with him.' " 

Mrs. Judson was one of the noblest of women, 
one of the most heroic of missionaries. As the 
author of " The Earnest Man" well says, "She 
was one of the purest, brightest, sw r eetest spirits 
that ever gladdened home, and breathed into a 
husband's heart the sustaining, inspiring life of 
domestic love." 



41 



322 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



SARAH MARTIN. 

In the parable of the talents the Saviour 
clearly teaches that he who has only one talent 
is under obligation to lay it out for God as cer- 
tainly as if he had ten. Nor should any one per- 
mit himself to neglect this duty on the plea that 
the one talent can accomplish nothing. We have 
many examples where the one has accomplished 
far more than the five or the ten in other hands; 
and Sarah Martin's life furnishes just such an ex- 
ample, as will be seen by our sketch. 

She was born at Caistor, in the County of Nor- 
folk, England, in 1791. It was the period of the 
French Revolution; England was overrun with 
the atheistic doctrines of France, and little was 
done to elevate the masses of the people. The 
idea that Christian teaching could do more to 
maintain security for life and property than brute 
force had not yet been extensively adopted. But 
what could this child of poverty do to promote 
the acceptance of this important truth? We 
shall see. 

She was the daughter of a shoemaker, but was 
early deprived by death of both her father and 
mother, and committed to the care of a widowed 



SARAH MARTIN. 323 

grandmother, equally poor with her parents as far 
as this world's wealth was concerned, but rich in 
faith, and an heir of the kingdom of heaven. 
Accordingly, she sought to impress upon Sarah's 
mind those precious truths which had been her 
own solace in the past, and were her hope for the 
future. 

By the time that Sarah was twelve years of 
age, however, she manifested a decided aversion 
to the Bible; but, having a taste for reading, she 
devoted her time to other books, such as the Spec- 
tator, Shakespeare, and other English poets. Her 
mother's Bible she hid away, so that the sight of 
it should not reproach her. But one Sabbath 
morning, in the nineteenth year of her age, she, 
in pursuit of pleasure, left her home and walked 
to the neighboring town of Yarmouth, and, pass- 
ing by a place of worship, out of mere curiosity 
entered. The sermon she heard was on the text 
(2 Cor. 5:11), u We persuade men, " and strangely 
affected her. The hidden Bible was taken from 
its resting-place, and soon Sarah found " the light 
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face 
of Jesus Christ." 

Having experienced the blessedness of peace 
with God, the young dressmaker — for she had 
been working at that trade from her fourteenth 
year — now sought to tell others of her new joy. 



324 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

She at once became a teacher in the Sunday- 
school, and began to visit the sick wards of the 
workhouse, where she became a ministering" an- 
gel to many of the friendless ones in their dreary 
abode. 

The Edinburgh "Review," speaking of the 
work done by Sarah Martin, thus describes the 
condition of the persons confined in Yarmouth 
jail: "The doors were simply locked upon the 
prisoners. Their time was given to swearing, 
gambling, playing, fighting, and bad language, 
and their visitors were admitted from without 
with little distinction. The whole place was 
filthy, confined, unhealthy, and its occupants 
were infected with vermin and skin diseases. ' ' 

For years Sarah Martin desired to visit these 
poor prisoners, and read to them out of that book 
which she found so full of consolation to her own 
heart; but she could not muster up sufficient cour- 
age to make the attempt until the year 1819, in 
the twenty-eighth year of her age. Her first ap- 
plication was refused, but she persevered in her 
request, and at last was admitted, and permitted 
to read the twenty-third chapter of the Gospel of 
Luke to a woman imprisoned for cruelty to her 
child. The tears and thanks from that once hard 
heart encouraged Sarah to make further efforts, 
and as often as she could spare time from her daily 



SARAH MARTIN. 325 

labor she visited the gloomy prison, and read the 
Scriptures with its inmates. 

She found most of the prisoners ignorant, and 
she began to teach them to read and write. But 
this could not be done efficiently in the few hours 
that she had hitherto taken from her daily labor; 
so she resolved to make the sacrifice of giving one 
whole day to this purpose, although it decreased 
her slender income one-sixth. Her method of 
teaching was simple. Those who did not know 
how to read she encouraged and aided in efforts 
to learn; and she induced those w T ho could read 
to become teachers. The same plan was adopted 
in w r riting, and she supplied the prisoners with 
books, that they might copy and commit to mem- 
ory extracts. She also persuaded them — and it 
needed some persuasion — to learn verses of Scrip- 
ture, and repeat them to her on her weekly visits; 
and such was her success that she could write in 
her diary, c c It astonishes me to observe how 
strictly and constantly the prisoners commit their 
verses from the Holy Scriptures every day. Poor 

old S takes uncommon pains to remember 

one every day. I , who on April 21 could only 

attempt one, has for some time learned five regu- 
larly, and several of Watts' Divine Songs. Since 
yesterday he has learned fourteen from John 15 
perfectly. ' ? 



326 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

As far as the prisoners and the regulations of 
the prison were concerned, Sabbath and week- 
day were alike. There was no Sabbath service. 
It was literally true that no one, with the single 
exception of Sarah Martin, cared for the souls of 
these prisoners. She set to work to remedy this 
defect, and instituted a Sabbath service, which 
she conducted herself, as no one else was willing 
to take charge of it. A writer in the " Edinburgh 
Review" speaks of this service as follows: "The 
cold, labored eloquence which boy-bachelors are 
authorized, by custom and constituted authority, 
to inflict upon us ... . sinks into utter worth- 
lessness by the side of the jail addresses of this 
poor uneducated seamstress. ' ' 

For three years she continued this ministry, 
and day by day earned her daily bread as seam- 
stress, meditating, as she labored, what she could 
say and do to benefit the poor outcasts in whom 
she had become interested. 

In addition to her religious work, she came to 
the conclusion that the prisoners must have some- 
thing to do, to save them from the curse of idle- 
ness. Accordingly, with money which she so- 
licited she purchased goods, cut them out in her 
home at night, and gave them to the women-pris- 
oners to make, paying them so much for each gar- 
ment, and then selling them. Finally, she formed 



SARAH MARTIN. 327 

a society called " The Female Prisoners' Employ- 
ment Society," which accomplished much good, 
both morally and materially. She soon also found 
suitable employment for the men in making straw 
hats, bone spoons, etc. 

Thus this poor dressmaker, with the motive 
power of love to Jesus in her heart, accomplished 
more for the reclamation of these prisoners than 
the so-called wise legislators, who from year to 
year were discussing the problem of what could 
be done to elevate and improve them. 

Finally the magistrates of the city saw and 
acknowledged her good work, and voted to pay 
her the sum of twelve pounds, nearly sixty dol- 
lars, per annum. Not quite five dollars per month 
for her valuable services was what we should con- 
sider a miserable pittance, but it was of great 
value to her. At first she doubted whether she 
ought to accept it, lest it might be supposed that 
she was doing her work with a selfish motive, and 
thus prejudice might be created against it. Be- 
coming convinced, however, that this pecuniary 
aid was providential, she gave herself wholly to 
the labor in which she delighted, and all her pro- 
jects, including prison and workhouse instruction, 
an evening school for factory girls, and employ- 
ment for discharged prisoners, were carried on 
under her skilful management and supervision. 



328 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

And her work was not in vain. Many, profit- 
ing by her instruction, were reclaimed from vice 
and commenced a career of usefulness. 

Evenings unclaimed by her factory girls, who 
met twice a week, were frequently spent among 
the sick in the workhouse or in the city; and, as 
her biographer writes, in the i l Book of Noble 
English Women, " "Many a dim eye lighted up 
with pleasure when she entered at the door; many 
a sore heart was strengthened by her soothing 
words of consolation and her accents of tender- 
ness; many were the blessings showered upon her 
for gentle ministrations, for smoothed pillows and 
holy words of peace, for the sympathising pressure 
of the hand and the sisterly kiss. Many a poor 
sufferer, in the isolation of the sick room, fancied 
he or she had entertained an angel unawares. ' ' 

As in the case of Mrs. Fry, whose contempo- 
rary labors have already been sketched, it was not 
so much the work that Sarah Martin did person- 
ally — although that was certainly valuable, and 
all the more wonderful because of the circumstan- 
ces under which it was done — as the fact that she 
became a teacher of others, and showed to philan- 
thropists and legislators that even the most de- 
graded could be reached and lifted up through the 
influences which Christianity supplies. There 
has been a great reformation in Great Britain re- 



SARAH MARTIN. 329 

specting the treatment of prisoners, and Sarah 
Martin deserves to be held in lasting remem- 
brance for her share of the work. 

But the fifteenth of October, 1843, came at last, 
and with it the messenger of her Lord to call her 
to her rest. Her nurse told her that she believed 
her end w T as near. She replied, " Thank God! 
thank God I" and her spirit passed joyfully away. 

In the light of this woman's life, who can dare 
hide her talents under the pretext that there is no 
opportunity to lay them out for God ? If any one 
could use this argument, the poor orphan dress- 
maker of Yarmouth might; but she urged no such 
empty excuse. She did what she could, each ef- 
fort enabling her to do more ; and now her name 
is recorded on earth as a benefactress of many, and 
in heaven she doubtless rejoices in the presence of 
Him whom she loved and followed. . 



42 



330 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



LADY HUNTINGDON. 

At London, on the 17th of June, 1791, Lady 
Huntingdon, one of the most remarkable Chris- 
tian women of any age, after whispering joyfully 
to her friends, ' ' I shall go to my Father to-night, ' > 
passed away, aged eighty-four years. Selina 
Shirley, afterwards Lady Huntingdon, was born 
near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, in Leicestershire, Eng- 
land, August 24, 1707; she was the second 
daughter of the Earl of Ferrers. The time of her 
birth and early years was a period of spiritual 
dearth and moral darkness, not only in England, 
but throughout her colonies. It was just before 
the Wesleys and Whitefield " lightened over Eng- 
land," and before the Tennents, Edwards, and 
others became instrumental in arousing spiritual 
life in our own country. The profession of reli- 
gion seemed little more than a mere form ; evan- 
gelical ministers were branded as fanatics, and it 
was popular to break up their meetings by mobs. 
As in apostolic times, such men were regarded as 
" turners of the world upside down," and espe- 
cially were they frowned upon by the rich and the 
noble. 




o/-' ft uJiftsiUfi ^ 



LADY HUNTINGDON. 331 

But it was otherwise with the subject of our 
sketch. In the providence of God she was called 
in her early years to follow to the grave a beloved 
playmate, and when she saw the earth thrown on 
the coffin lid, and heard the mournful comment, 
u Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust," her 
silent prayer was, " O God, be my God when my 
hour shall come. ! ' 

That petition was prompted by the Holy Spir- 
it, drawing her to her Heavenly Father; and al- 
though she had then no one near her to instruct 
her concerning u the Way, the Truth, and the 
Life, ' * her serious impressions continued, and she 
afterwards found a teacher in her sister Margaret, 
who had been converted under the preaching of 
Mr. Ingham, whom she afterwards married. 

At the age of twenty-one, Lady Selina was 
married to the Earl of Huntingdon, and became a 
model wife and mother; but for some time after 
her marriage she was ignorant of the blessings 
which flow from Christ. She then made the dis- 
covery that her formal observances, and the char- 
ities in which she abounded, could not wash away 
her sin and secure to her peace with God. She 
was laid upon a bed of sickness, and here new 
light beamed upon her soul. Like Paul, she was 
enabled to say, u God, who commanded the light 
to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our 



332 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the 
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ;" and 
soon she consecrated herself in these words, c 4 My 
God, I give myself to thee. ' ' Her sister Marga- 
ret' s teaching, which she could not at first under- 
stand, was now plain to her: pardon and peace 
could be found only by unreserved trust in the 
Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. 

As soon as she was restored to health, she sent 
for John and Charles Wesley, who were then in 
London. These noble men, together with White- 
field, Ingham, and others, by their itinerant 
preaching, were arousing many from death-like 
slumbers to spiritual life and energy. They 
found in Lady Huntingdon a patron and friend, 
and her house in London became the meeting 
place for such men as we have named, and such 
as Watts, Doddridge, Col. Gardiner, and others. 

Lady Huntingdon felt it to be her duty to call 
the attention of her friends to their need of an in- 
terest in the Lord Jesus Christ, a proceeding then 
altogether new, and she often met with a rebuff. 
The Duchess of Buckingham thus haughtily re- 
plied to one of her notes, " The doctrines of these 
preachers are most repulsive, and strongly tinc- 
tured with impertinence and disrespect towards 
their superiors, in perpetually endeavoring to 
level . all ranks and to do away with all distinc- 



LADY HUNTINGDON. 333 

tions. It is monstrous to be told that you have a 
heart as sinful as the commonest wretches that 
crawl upon the earth. This is highly offensive 
and insulting, and I cannot but wonder that your 
ladyship should relish any sentiments so much at 
variance w r ith high rank and good breeding. ' ' 

Not only were Lady Huntingdon's efforts di- 
rected to the rich; she delighted to speak to the 
poor of the wondrous grace that is in Christ Jesus. 
The story has often been repeated of her conver- 
sation with a laborer in her garden, which was 
heard by another through a hole in the wall, and 
was the means of leading the unseen hearer to a 
knowledge of the Saviour. Thus did this noble 
woman labor to bring all w 7 ith whom she came in 
contact to know and trust the Saviour so precious 
to her. 

In 1746 her husband was suddenly taken away, 
and she was left to manage his wealth and to care 
for their children, a task to which she proved her- 
self equal. 

In January, 1739, Whitefield was announced 
to preach in Moorfields, then a common near Lon- 
don wall, where the rabble of the city were accus- 
tomed to assemble and hold daily and nightly 
revels. He was told that if he attempted to 
preach in such a place he w T ould lose his life; but 
he made the attempt, and the result was, the 



334 . HEROES AND HEROINES. 

great multitude was melted, and tears and groans 
issued from the most abandoned. He continued 
to preach there from a temporary shed, roughly- 
thrown up, and called a tabernacle; but it was 
finally proposed to put up a more substantial 
building, which was finished and opened in June, 

1753- 

In November, 1756, another building was 

erected by Whitefield in the west end of London; 
it was known as Tottenham Court Chapel, and 
was, we believe, removed in 1830, being now used 
as a Congregational church. 

About five years previous to the opening of 
the first building, Whitefield had been appointed 
chaplain to Lady Huntingdon, and preached fre- 
quently to many of the nobility in her mansion 
in Park street, London. While thus connected 
with her, he made several tours through the 
country, including Scotland. The leaders of 
the revived evangelical party were thus led 
into a correspondence with Lady Huntingdon, 
which resulted finally in the establishment of 
a college at Trevecca, Wales, where godly men 
could be trained for the ministry, and in the in- 
stitution of numerous chapels all over the land, 
that the masses of the people might learn the way 
of salvation. So sadly was the evangelical doctrine 
obscured at that period by the formalism of the 



LADY HUNTINGDON, 335 

Established Church, that a leading dignitary of the 
latter expressed his disapprobation of the earnest- 
ness of the new preachers, in a published sermon 
on 4 ' The great folly and danger of being right- 
eous overmuch. " 

Lady Huntingdon, as a peeress of the realm, 
was able for a long time to give protection to her 
chaplains in their work of preaching the gospel, 
and she appointed for this purpose such men as 
Venn and Romaine; but by a decision of the 
courts, in 1779, the right of this protection was at 
last denied her, and the authority of the parish 
rector was declared paramount. Lady Hunting- 
don and a number of those pastors whom she 
specially aided were, therefore, under the neces- 
sity of taking advantage of the Toleration Act of 
1689, which granted freedom of worship to dissen- 
ters from the Church of England, and seceding 
from the Established Church, with their congre- 
gations. Thus another denomination was added 
to the list in England, and known as the Countess 
of Huntingdon's Connection, though really con- 
sisting of Whitefield Methodists, the latter term 
having been first applied, in ridicule, to the 
Wesleys, Whitefield, and their associates, for their 
methodical habits of study and religious exercise 
while they were yet students in the university of 
Oxford. The Lady Huntingdon Connection dif- 



336 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

fered from the Wesleyan Methodists in holding 
the Calvinistic doctrines of Whitefield; from the 
Independents in admitting the expediency of a 
scriptural liturgy; from the Church of England 
in their £eal to reach the masses with the gospel, 
and in their opposition to the legal formalities 
which prevented the free proclamation of the 
gospel without regard to parish lines. 

The college at Trevecca was now a valuable 
auxiliary to the new denomination. The princi- 
pal cause of the establishment of this college at 
the first, was the expulsion of several students 
from Oxford because they visited the hamlets of 
the poor, and tried to teach them the way of sal- 
vation. The charge against them was, " hold- 
ing Methodistical tenets." On their expulsion, 
it was suggested that, as these six gentlemen 
were expelled for having too much religion, it 
would be very proper to inquire into the conduct 
of some who had too little. But at that period 
to fee without religion was not regarded as a fault 
by many of the dignitaries of either the church 
or the nation. Soon the college furnished de- 
voted ministers for the new denomination. In 
1792 it was removed to Cheshunt, near London, 
where it still exists. 

For over fifty years this noble woman used 
her influence, her time, and her wealth to pro- 



LADY HUNTINGDON. 337 

mote the preaching of the gospel, and with won- 
derful success. She was styled in derision, by 
Horace Walpole, the queen of the Methodists, 
but it was certainly an honorable title, and proba- 
bly no queen of England ever did so much work 
that would meet the approval of heaven as she 
did. But her work was finished at last. The 
infirmities of old age came upon her, rather than 
any special sickness ; and after providing for her 
charities, and arranging for the carrying out of 
her plans, she went, as we have already described, 
to her Father's house in heaven. 



fteroes. 



43 



333 HEROES AND HEROINES. 



LADY GLENORCHY. 

"Not many mighty, not many noble, are 
called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of 
the world to confound the wise." But while 
there may not be many noble called to do the 
special work of the Lord on earth, there are a 
few, and among these we find the subject of our 
sketch — Lady Glenorchy. She was born at Pres- 
ton, Scotland, in September, 1741, and was care- 
fully educated under the superintendence of her 
mother, for her father, Dr. William Maxwell, 
died a few months before her birth. She early 
exhibited superior talents, especially in the line 
of music; and these endowments, together with 
her agreeable person and vivacious temperament, 
made her an object of admiration in the circles of 
fashion. She was married, in her twentieth year, 
to Lord Glenorchy, the only son of the Earl of 
Breadalbane, and with her husband she spent 
two years in France and Italy. On her return 
she became a votary of fashion, and indulged in 
the dissipations common to that period among the 
higher classes of society. 

But soon the voice of God came to her in a 



LA D Y GLENORCHY. 339 

severe affliction; and, on her recovery, the Holy 
Spirit employed the truth contained in the first 
question of the Shorter Catechism of the West- 
minster Assembly to produce in her the convic- 
tion of her lost and ruined condition by reason of 
sin. This catechism she had been taught in early 
youth; and when she meditated on the fact that 
1 ' the chief end of man is to glorify God, and to 
enjoy him for ever," she could not repress the 
inquiry, " Have I glorified God? Shall I enjoy 
him for ever?" Nor could she escape the con- 
clusion that for more than twenty years she had 
been serving self and Satan, without any regard 
to the glory of God, or any desire to enjoy him 
hereafter. 

At length, in her trouble, she wrote to a friend, 
Miss Hill, the sister of the Rev. Rowland Hill; 
and the answer that she received led her to search 
the Scriptures, with prayer that God would lead 
her to the truth. Soon afterwards, as she read 
part of the third chapter of Romans, the eyes of 
her spiritual understanding were opened, and that 
Saviour who had hitherto seemed to her " as a 
root out of a dry ground," without "form or 
comeliness," now appeared as "the chiefest 
among ten thousand," and "altogether lovely." 
From that period, four years after her marriage, 
to the end of her earthly journey, she and Miss 



340 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

Hill were faithful friends and correspondents; 
and the latter, doubtless, did much to help her to 
withstand the temptations with which she was 
surrounded and the attempts to lead her back to 
the frivolities of fashionable life. 

When Lady Glenorchy was in Edinburgh, 
where she spent a considerable portion of her 
time, she, with other distinguished ladies, formed 
a religious society, and met at each other's houses, 
and afterwards at the house of the minister of the 
High Church, Edinburgh, to study the Scrip- 
tures. It was in 1770 that she, with Lady Max- 
well, conceived the design of opening a union 
church in Edinburgh, where ministers of all the 
evangelical churches might preach alternately. 
With this view St. Mary's Chapel was secured; 
but though large congregations assembled in it to 
hear the gospel, yet, in consequence of the oppo- 
sition attending the enterprise, little was accom- 
plished. The next effort of the kind was the 
building of a church in connection with the Es- 
tablished Church of Scotland; this church is, I 
believe, still known as Lady Glenorchy' s Chapel. 

In 1 771 Lord Glenorchy died. He left to his 
wife the whole of his real and personal estate, and 
gave her power to use it u for encouraging the 
preaching of the gospel," etc. Nobly did she 
fulfil the trust committed to her care; and not 



LADY GLENORCHY. 34! 

only were her benefactions bestowed in Scotland, 
but also in England, where she had occasion, for 
the benefit of her health, frequently to sojourn. 
Indeed, so much was her heart in the work of the 
Lord, that she was not content to limit her ex- 
penditures for his cause to her annual income, 
but sold her estate at Barton, that she might use 
the proceeds in the upbuilding of her Master's 
kingdom. She acted on the principle laid down 
by Christ: "Lay up for yourselves treasures in 
heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth cor- 
rupt, and where thieves do not break through nor 
steal." If her example were only followed by 
half of the members of Christ's church, how sopn, 
by the blessing of God, would the world be sub- 
dued to Christ. 

Believing the circulation of tracts and books 
to be valuable as an instrumentality in promoting 
the Redeemer's kingdom, Lady Glenorchy gave 
her means in that direction; sometimes, indeed, 
she bore the whole expense of publishing a tract 
or book, that she might have it to circulate among 
her friends and the poor. Nor did she neglect the 
education of youth. Numerous teachers, in des- 
titute localities, were employed and paid by her, 
that children might be trained for usefulness and 
in the fear of God. Indeed, she accomplished 
more by her single efforts and the expenditure of 



342 HEROES AND' HEROINES, 

her own means, than some organized churches 
have been able to accomplish, though sustained 
by hundreds of members. Love to the divine 
Redeemer was the motive which prompted her 
actions; she could say, as did the apostle Paul, 
u The love of Christ constraineth me," and, as a 
consequence, her work was indeed a labor of love; 
she did not bestow her benefactions grudgingly, 
but in the spirit of Him who said, ".It is more 
blessed to give than to receive." 

But her work, carried on in her widowhood 
for fifteen yen ;, reached its termination. On the 
fourteenth of July, 1786, she was seized with a 
disease which in three days released her from her 
labors below. She was at the house of the Count- 
ess of Sutherland, in Edinburgh, when the mes- 
senger came to her; and a relative, approaching 
her bed to find out whether she was asleep, heard 
her say, "Well, if this be dying, it is the pleas- 
antest thing imaginable." From that time she 
slept peacefully, until she was taken home to the 
presence of that Saviour whom she had so ardent- 
ly loved and so faithfully served. She was bur- 
ied, agreeably to her own request, in a vault in 
the centre of the chapel in Edinburgh which she 
built in 1772. 




MAIiY IL"^"@Mc 



] lainting in 1832 . 



MARY LYON. 343 



MARY LYON. 

At South Hadley, Massachusetts, near the 
beautiful female seminary of Mt. Holyoke, known 
and loved by earnest workers in every quarter of 
the globe, stands a marble monument, with the 
following inscription on the w r est side: 

MARY LYON, 

The founder of 

Mount Holyoke Female Seminary; 

For twelve years its Principal, 

and 

A teacher for thirty-five years 

and 

Of more than three thousand pupils. 

Born February 28, 1797, 

Died March 5, 1849. 

On the north side: 

" Give her of the fruits of her hands ; and let her own 
works praise her in the gates. " 

On the south side: 

" Servant of God, well done ! 
Rest from thy loved employ ; 
The battle fought, the victory won, 
Enter thy Master's joy." 



344 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

On the east side, her own noble utterance in 
the last instruction she gave to her school: 

"There is nothing in the universe that I fear but that I 
shall not know all my duty, or shall fail to do it." 

To sketch the life and great work of her whose 
dust reposes under this monument is now our 
pleasant task. She was born, at the time already 
noted, in Buckland, near Ashfield, Mass., being 
the fifth of seven children. Both her parents 
were noted for their piety, and her mother was 
also said to have had more than usual force of 
mind. Her father died while Mary was in her 
fifth year. To her mother, therefore, she was 
chiefly indebted for early care and training; and 
well was Mrs. Lyon prepared for the task, and 
great was her reward — for all her children learned 
to love and serve their parents' God before they 
had passed the years of their youth. 

It is supposed, from what Mary said to some 
of her early friends, that she was the subject of a 
change of heart in 1816, and that the instrumen- 
tality which the Holy Spirit employed was the 
simple explanation of Bible truth by her grand- 
uncle. 

Soon after this she engaged in teaching school, 
receiving as compensation seventy-five cents per 
week, with board. To prepare herself better for 
this work she entered the Sanderson Academy, at 



MARY LYON. 345 

Ashfield, in the autumn of 181 7. It was here her 
superior powers of mind were first manifested, and 
friends began to take a special interest in what 
they rightly judged to be a mind needing only a 
little polish to shine with uncommon brilliancy. 
The money that Miss Lyon had obtained from a 
brother, and by spinning, weaving, and teaching, 
was soon expended ; but the trustees of the acad- 
emy, to prevent her leaving, offered her the free 
use of its advantages. She then took all the 
housekeeping materials that she had gathered, in 
accordance with the common practice of young 
women at that time, and exchanged them at a 
boarding-house for board. 

Being thus prepared for teaching, she found 
no difficulty in finding employment; and when 
she had gathered more money by her work, in 
1 82 1 she entered, in pursuit of still higher quali- 
fications, Rev. Joseph Emerson's school, at By- 
field, near Newburyport, Mass. It was while 
attending this school that her religious character 
was more fully developed, and that she obtained 
boldness to witness for Christ. Her pen, too, 
found a new subject for correspondence. Writing 
to her mother at this period, she said that Miss 
Grant, with whom she afterwards was associated 
at Ipswich, had expressed her views in a most 
affecting manner. " She feared, " wrote Miss 

Heroes. A A 



346 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

Lyon, "that the Saviour was here wounded in 
the house of his friends; that Christians in this 
school were grieving the Holy Spirit; that the 
state of their hearts presented obstacles to his spe- 
cial presence and work. The solemnity, affec- 
tion, and tender solicitude with which she uttered 
these remarks appeared to make a deep impres- 
sion on every mind. Since that a visible change 
has been in progress in the school. Sometimes 
during devotional exercises, or while listening to 
Mr. Emerson's instructions and solemn warn- 
ings, scarcely a heart has been able to refrain 
from sighs, or an eye from tears. n In an at- 
mosphere like this Miss Lyon made rapid pro- 
gress in the divine life, as well as in secular 
knowledge. 

Soon after this Miss Lyon engaged to teach in 
the academy which she herself had first attended 
at Ashfield, where she continued until persuaded 
by Miss Grant to join her as associate principal in 
a school at Londonderry, N. H. Partly on ac- 
count of the severity of the climate, this school 
was not held in winter; hence Miss Lyon taught, 
at the same time, a winter school at Buckland; 
and when Miss Grant moved her school to Ips- 
wich, Mass., Miss Lyon accompanied her, but 
still continued her independent school. 

God abundantly blessed her labors, and gave 



MARY LYON. 347 

her warm friends. He was preparing her and 
those w T ho were to be her helpers for the great 
work that she was by-and-by to perform at South 
Hadley. But Miss Lyon's work during these 
years was itself of great importance. She sent 
out numerous teachers from her schools, imbued 
with her unselfish spirit; and wherever they went 
they created an enthusiasm in behalf of education 
and religion, so that to have been a pupil of Miss 
Lyon's was considered the very best recommen- 
dation for a teacher. 

From 1 83 1 to 1834 she gave her whole time 
to the Ipswich school. While there, she medita- 
ted on the establishment of such a school as Mt. 
Holyoke, until the thought became, to use her 
own words, c c as fire in her bones. ' ' She felt that 
many noble minds were left, to use the figure of 
Gray, to i l waste, their sweetness on the desert 
air, ' ' because of the expense attending the obtain- 
ing of an education. This obstacle she deter- 
mined to overcome, and finally accomplished her 
purpose by establishing the seminary at Mt. Hol- 
yoke, where an education could be obtained at a 
rate much below what was charged at similar in- 
stitutions. 

But she had undertaken* a difficult task. The 
value of female education was not then apprecia- 
ted as it is at the present time. The country was 



348 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

comparatively poor; men were not in the habit of 
giving large snms for any purpose, and it was a 
very easy matter to find an excuse for not contrib- 
uting to what was then only an experiment. Miss 
Lyon, however, met and surmounted all these 
difficulties. Her first work was to disseminate in- 
formation by means of a well-prepared circular, 
which she followed up by personal application. 
She had well considered the difficulty of the un- 
dertaking, but she had strong faith in the God 
of providence. A little before she said farewell 
to her friends at Ipswich, she wrote to a sister as 
follows: "I never had a prospect of engaging in 
any labor which seemed so directly the work of 
the Lord as this. It is very sweet, in the midst 
of darkness and doubt, to commit the whole to 
his guidance. ' ' 

Her trust was not disappointed. She was 
about to experience the truth of the Psalmist's 
declaration, ' c Commit thy way unto the Lord : 
trust also in him: and he shall bring it to pass." 
On September 6, 1834, a few friends, whom 
Miss Lyon had enlisted by correspondence, met in 
her parlor, and appointed a committee to take 
steps to raise funds, etc. Miss Lyon herself went 
to work, and collected from her lady friends one 
thousand dollars to meet the outlay of carrying 
on the project. After a while the question of lo- 



MARY LYON. 349 

cation was settled, and Rev. Roswell Hawks was 
engaged to collect funds for the erection of build- 
ings. With the aid of Miss Lyon, who often ac- 
companied him in his work, some progress was 
made, and the cornerstone of the building was 
laid October 3, 1836. In the meantime, Miss 
Lyon had enlisted, or, rather, as she herself be- 
lieved, the Holy Spirit had inclined to her pro- 
ject, the hearts of such men as Joseph Avery, of 
Conway, Deacon A. W. Porter, of Munson, and 
Deacons Saflford and Williston ; and in such hands 
there was no danger of failure. 

Accordingly, the school, whose fame after- 
wards not only spread through our own land, for 
its noble work of Christian education and the 
teachers it has supplied in almost every part of 
our country, but which became celebrated in 
nearly every portion of the world for the mission- 
aries it has educated and sent out, and which, we 
doubt not, is also noted in heaven as the place 
where many have been born into the kingdom of 
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, was opened 
November 8, 1837, a little over three years after 
the meeting in Miss Lyon's parlor at Ipswich. 
There were rooms for eighty pupils, and such was 
the reputation of Miss Lyon that more than could 
be accommodated made application within a few 
days. What wonderful things God had wrought 



3So HEROES AND HEROINES: 

for her! Well might her biographer say, "She 
had long been one of those who, observing prov- 
idences, have providences to observe. ' ' 

The peculiarities of the seminary are so well 
known that we need only name them. First, 
there w T ere no day scholars; all the pupils were 
required to room and board within its walls. Sec- 
ondly, to lessen expense, and bring the cost of ed- 
ucation to rates that the middle classes could af- 
ford, and to educate the young women in domes- 
tic matters, all the work in the building was to 
be performed by the teachers and pupils. And, 
thirdly, direct and persistent efforts were to be put 
forth for the salvation of the souls of the pupils. 
Wonderful was the success which the school at- 
tained in all these respects. There were few 
years, indeed, during Miss Lyon's life when it 
was not visited with the special influences of the 
Holy Spirit, so that in Miss Lyon's latter years, 
when speaking of the death of loved ones who 
had studied within its walls, she could say, "I 
thank God that I have not yet heard of the death 
of any pupil of this beloved seminary who was 
without a hope in Jesus." 

But her twelve years of busy labor soon came 
to an end. In February, 1849, a pupil died of 
erysipelas. As she lay at the point of death, the 
whole school was touched and solemnized. Miss 



MARY LYON. 351 

Lyon, who at the time was, not in her usual 
health, was specially moved, and, feeble as she 
was, desired to use the condition of the loved one 
for the spiritual profit of the whole school. She 
accordingly met with the students in ( the hall, 
and, in the words of one who was present, "she 
wished to lead us to turn from the trying circum- 
stances in which we were placed and follow that 
dear dying one up to the i celestial city,' and, as 
its pearly gates opened to receive her, look in 
and catch a glimpse of its glories. She seemed 
to have a most enrapturing view of heaven, and 
with a full heart exclaimed, ' Oh, if it were I, how 
happy I should be to go,' but added, 4 Not that I 
would be unclothed while I can do anything for 
you, my dear children.' " 

It was in this address that she uttered the 
noble sentiment which is inscribed on her tomb- 
stone. 

The time when she, too, should hear the wel- 
come voice, " Come up higher," was only a few 
days further off. The same disease that had 
taken her pupil called her away; but it was to a 
Saviour she loved, and to a heaven she longed 
for; and now, in the grounds of the seminary, the 
offspring of her special labor and prayers, her 
body awaits the resurrection of the just. 

In an address at the first anniversary of the 



352 HEROES AND HEROINES. 

seminary after her death, among other things 
Dr. Hitchcock said of her: "From the days of 
her childhood to the time of her death, all her 
physical, intellectual, and moral powers were 
concentrated upon some useful and noble object, 
while selfishness and self-gratification seem never 
to have stood at all in the way, or to have re- 
tarded the fervent wheels of benevolence. I 
cannot, therefore, believe that it is the partiality 
of personal friendship which leads me to place 
Miss L,yon among the most remarkable woman of 
her generation. Her history, too, shows the 
guiding hand of special providence almost as 
strikingly as the miraculous history of Abraham, 
of Moses, of Elijah, or of Paul. Oh, it tells us 
how blessed it is to trust Providence implicitly 
when we are trying to do good, though the dark- 
ness be so thick around us that we cannot see 
forward one hand's breadth, and bids us advance 
with as confident a step as if all were light before 
us." 

Well would it be for every land to have many 
such noble women. 



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